Seven
by Phillozophy
Summary: Nobody seems to realize that he is just a boy trying to survive. Novelization for Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** It begins.

* * *

 _…_

 _…_

 _Wake up!_

 _…_

 _…_

 _Hey! Listen! Get up!_

I wake up slowly, not quite sure if this is still my dream or not. I'm pretty sure it was a really scary dream but I can't really remember it anymore.

It probably doesn't matter.

"Hey! C'mon! Can Hyrule's destiny really depend upon such a lazy boy?" I turn around in my bed and sit up, blinking my eyes out.

There's a blue light flying in my room, no, it's a fairy. It's not that surprising; lots of wild fairies take pity on me and come into my room to play. I sit up and stretch, yawning.

"Oh, good, you're finally awake." The blue fairy, from what I can see through her shine, has short, wavy, cyan hair, the sharp features unique to the fairy kind, and big blue eyes. She's wearing a bluebell as a dress, I think. It's a nice purplish color. Her slim arms reach to smooth out her dress, and she clears her throat very professionally.

"Hello, I am Navi the fairy, and I am, ah… to be your Guardian Fairy from now on. Nice to finally meet you, Link."

What?

"…Huh?" I ask, confused. Navi sighs and repeats herself.

"I'm only saying it one more time, okay? We're under some tight time constraints here. Hello, I am Navi the fairy, and I am to be your Guardian Fair-,"

And then I scream and jump out of my bed, rolling on the ground with my blankets and laughing wildly. I have a fairy! Navi is grumbling and I'm not really sure if I like it because she sounds mad and I don't like it when people are mad but _oh my gosh I have a fairy._

"Glad to know that you approve. Well, what I was trying to say is that the Great Deku Tree needs you, alright? And quickly, he's in… Actually, just see for yourself. Just…" She groans and throws her arms up in frustration, "Hurry up, okay!?" I nod somewhat eagerly and pull on my hat and belt. Oh! I have to make sure that my slingshot is in Storage… Yes, it is. Good.

Before I reach the door however, I run back to my bed, grab the pillow, stuff my face into it, and scream.

Navi sighs again, but there's a little hint of a chuckle. It's a nice sound. I like making people laugh.

I spring out of my front door and start climbing down my ladder.

"Yahoo! Link! Are you awake? Let's go eat breakfast!" Saria's calling me, and I almost stumble on the ladder down from my treehouse in my excitement and surprise.

Scratch that.

My foot slips on the ladder and I fall to the ground, landing with a loud thump. My head kinda hurts but do I care? No, I really don't, because I have a fairy-

"Link! Get off the ground, you have to hurry up!" I think I hear Saria say, and then I realize it is _NAVI, MY FAIRY,_ and I roll around on the ground again because I'm _SO HAPPY!_

Saria hears _NAVI_ too, and says, "Wow! Is that… it _is_ a fairy! I'm so happy for you, Link! Now, you're a _true_ Kokiri."

That kinda hurts a tiny bit because that means she didn't think I was a true Kokiri before, but to be honest, nothing can ruin my mood right now, so I say, "YEAH!" really loudly.

Her fairy, Hael, says, "Seven, Saria wants to go eat soon, so you better hurry up, alright?" The Guardian Fairies don't call anyone other than their charges by their names. We're known by our numbers. Our numbers aren't necessarily rankings, but being One generally means Saria gets a lot of authority in the Forest.

Which basically means that Saria was the first Kokiri born and I'm the seventh.

Speaking of Saria, she's really cool. She has green hair because she's the oldest, and the oldest always gets to have green hair, and she has this Skull Kid hat that she got from one of her Skull Kid friends that she wears sometimes to scare Mido away. Oh, and she has this really awesome looking leaf cloak; all of the Kokiri have one but Saria's is special because the Great Deku Tree said so.

…And she has green boots, too. I wish I had green boots.

Navi clears her throat again, _she does that a lot,_ and says, "I'm sorry, One, but Link has been summoned by the Great Deku Tree and must report to him immediately." Navi sounds very, very professional and I'm not sure that's a good thing because I like people who are happy and cheerful and energetic.

Even if I'm not.

I shoot Saria an apologetic glance, but she just smiles and ushers me over in the general direction of the Deku Tree. I grin and run off as fast as I can because _I have a fairy-_

Nobody's saying mean things behind my back anymore and that makes me really happy to be honest.

I keep running and I'm almost at the Deku Tree's clearing when somebody pushes me from behind, sending me flying flat on my face.

Ouch.

I spit out a mouthful of dirt, ew, tastes like dirt, and turn around. Of course, it's Mido, because apparently it's Mido's job to ruin my good day.

"Hey, Fairy-less!" He yells. That's his nickname for me. I don't really like it. "Gonna go play with your fairy?" He pauses, "Oh, wait, _you don't have one!"_ And he bursts out laughing.

And while normally I would be sad, I have a _fairy_ now so I'm just really happy again.

Navi whirls around me, asking, "Hurry, get up, we have to get to the Deku Tree-,"

Mido does a double take and whirls around. "You have a _fairy? What? Why?"_ And he's yelling at me for some reason.

I don't really like Mido, but I don't tell him because that would make me a meanie.

"Um," I say, standing up, "I really need to go to the Great Deku Tree because he called me and I don't really wanna make him wait-,"

He interrupts me by putting his hands on my shoulders and shoving me into the pond by Yerbal's shop. I cry out and splash into the water.

"I don't take orders from half-people, Fairy-less!" Mido yells, and I pout a bit because Mido is a butt hole and he's not recognizing Navi at all.

"Navi is a fairy." I mumble. "And she's mine."

Mido interrupts again by throwing a pebble at me. It connects with my cheek and it stings a bit.

"I'm not letting you into the Great Deku Tree's clearing unless..." He pauses, thinking. Mido's fairy, Sina, jumps out of his cap and flutters around Mido's head. He glides towards Mido's ear and whispers something.

I said Mido three times in a row.

Ew.

A sneaky smile, hheheh, that sounded funny, crosses Mido's face. That's the face he makes when he's thinking of ways to make me feel bad, so I'm not sure I like it very much.

"Yes! Yes, good idea!" He turns around and smirks. "Link, unless you can get a sword and a shield, I'm not gonna let you in!" He sticks his tongue out. "Nya nya!"

No way, I can't do that.

The only really big rule in the Forest is that we're not supposed to hurt each other which also means we're not supposed to touch the sword but if I touch the sword that'll ruin it because sword can hurt people.

I really don't wanna hurt anybody or get in trouble.

"But the Great Deku Tree-," I start, but Mido cuts me off.

"I'm doing this for you own _safety,_ Link." He laughs. "You need equipment to stay _safe."_

He starts snickering after that, slapping his knees and clutching his stomach. I get up off the ground and run away, sopping wet, water droplets and Navi trailing behind me.

What do I do?

I can ask Saria, right?

Wait, no, I have Navi now.

I'll ask Navi.

"Oh, that little bully!"

Speaking of which.

Navi is an angry shade of red, and her blue hair's turned purple from the mixing colors. Fairies do that and it's kinda funny sometimes but it's not really funny when fairies are mad.

"The Great Deku Tree's in _trouble,_ and he has the… the _gall_ to keep you from entering!?"

She's _really_ mad, isn't she. Oh, no, not very funny.

"Um, N-Navi?" I ask, tentatively, once we're far enough away and I've dried off, extending a hand. I'm kinda worried that she's gonna get real mad at me but instead she turns into a nice cyan color.

"Yes?"

Oh. Okay, then.

"D-Do you have any idea where the sword might be…?"

She thinks for a bit. "Well, it _might_ be in the Forest Training Center. Nobody's ever really gotten that far into it, especially you Kokiri. So… Yeah. Probably there. You'll have to go through the Lost Woods a bit to get to it, remember?"

I nod.

I can do this. Just go, get the sword, come back, show Mido, return the sword, and go to the Great Deku Tree.

Simple as that.

But some part of me knows that it's not going to be that simple, and it's the same part of me that's convinced that I'm going to kill something if I touch the sword that thinks it.

That didn't really make sense, but I'm okay with that.

Everybody says that the sword corrupts people and I'm not too sure what corrupt means but I think it means it'll make you bad.

Nobody knows where the sword is, anyways, only that the Great Deku Tree hid it somewhere.

Darn it.

I kick a pinecone into the bushes to release my anger. It's a way to get rid of stress, according to Saria.

Part of me hopes that by some chance, it'll hit the sword and make a noise.

It doesn't.

Aww.

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 **A/N:** alrighty then

yes this is the beginning of a novelization of oot and mm

ask-number-seven. tumblr. com if you wanna ask questions

my personal tumblr is phillozophy. tumblr. com where i will sometimes scream about it

 **review please**

anD UPDATES WILL _**NOT**_ BE REGULAR

they'll come out when they can but you can always use the ask blog if you can't wait lmao  
i'll try to have chapters out every month but we'll see how that goes


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Zelda

* * *

"Well, let's go, then." Navi says and directs me over to the vines hanging down the cliff leading to the entrance of the Woods. I grab a couple vines and haul myself up, step by step, until I make it to the top and then run through the tunnel leading in.

As soon as I step past the tree barrier, the plants turn a darker green and the vegetation gets thicker. More trees climb towards the sky. Navi flutters behind me.

I weave through the trees, right, up, right, up again, and then stop before taking the next turn. To the left is a sign with a little tree on it and a slide and a Stalfos. Ooh, there it is! The Forest Training Center.

It's a new drawing because the last one faded away a few decades ago.

I turn to the left and step into the smaller clearing. Bucha is busy throwing punches at Goat, who just carefully blocks each punch with his wood club. It's kinda funny to watch, but I can't focus on that. Maybe the sword is here?

He notices me and stops punching Goat. "Oh, hey there, Link! Heard the news that you got a fairy!" He's panting really heavily and gosh, Bucha has almost no stamina, he needs to work on that.

I nod, grinning. Navi flies out from behind me.

"I'm Navi, nice to meet you." She says. "Which one is that?" She asks, gesturing to Goat.

Bucha's already gone back to playing with Goat and he answers while dodging a slow punch. "Oh, it's Goat, you know? Fado's third Stalfos."

Yeah, the reason there's a Stalfos on the sign is because we use them to train and stuff. We use the Outsiders that wander in here and turn them into Stalfos.

We only use the ones that Don't Move, though.

I've tried my hand at it before. Mine is named Boney. I really like his name and it took me a while to figure out what to name him, but I decided that I liked that name a lot.

Speaking of Boney, I see him staring at a flower a ways ahead.

He's kinda weird.

"Hi!" I shout, waving. I run over to him and I kinda wanna jump at him but he's made of bones and that'll hurt, so I don't. Boney looks up from his flowers and cocks his head at me before glancing back, picking a dandelion, and handing it to me. I take it and grin, sticking it right above my ear.

Now I am Flower Child, hidden hero of the Kokiri. Fear my flowery powers.

"Thank you!" I sit down next to him. "How are you?"

Boney nods, bones shifting and clattering.

"That's good. Um, I kinda wanted to ask, but do you know where the Kokiri Sword is?" Boney stares at me for a few and then shrugs. I feel my hopes deflate.

"Aww…" Boney tilts his head to the side and rattles his bones. "I need to find the sword so that I can get into the Great Deku Tree's clearing. Mido's being a meanie pants again."

Boney nods in understanding, and then points to himself.

"You wanna come help me look for it?" Boney nods again and stands up. I stand up too.

I laugh to myself and hug Boney. Ouch. Knew it would hurt. "Oh, did you hear? I have a fairy now!"

Boney slowly raises a hand and covers his mouth with it in a gesture of surprise, one that _I_ taught him, thank you, and I giggle.

"Yeah! Navi, say hi to Boney."

Navi zips out of my cap and settles on top of my head. "Boney? Is he yours?"

"Yup."

"Huh. Take it it's your first?"

"Uh-huh."

"Nice." She says, drawing the I out. I'm glad that she's complimenting Boney because I like Boney holds out a finger for Navi to perch on and clacks his bones happily.

"Well," Navi clears her throat _again,_ landing gracefully on the finger _,_ "We ought to start looking for the sword now. Come on, hurry up."

I nod even though I want to tell Navi that she should be happier because I like happy people.

"Okay, now, Boney, I want you to head over there to look, alright?" Navi says in this really a… a…

What's that word that's like authority but isn't?

"Just look around those bushes-,"

"Hey, Navi," I say, accidentally interrupting her. "What's the word that's like authority but describes someone with authority?"

"…Authoritative?"

"Yeah! That's it. Thanks." I beam.

Okay, so she said it in a really authori... authori…

"…What was it again-,"

"Authoritative, now go over there and look for the sword!" She yells, pointing to the right.

"O-Oh, okay!" Oh, no, she sounds mad.

I run over to where she pointed and drop to my knees, running my hands through the grass and feeling for the sword.

…She said that in really authoritative voice, by the way. Just thought I'd mention.

I find a really pretty flower, this one's not a dandelion, and pick it, sticking it in my hat. I can give this to Navi later. I bet she'll feel happy when I give it to her. It's blue and it smells nice and it reminds me of her so I hope it reminds her of me.

"Navi?" I call.

"Yes?"

"Do you like flowers?"

"I don't care for them exactly, no. Prefer other things."

Oh.

"But you wear one!" I whine.

"The Great Deku Tree gave this to me for when I meet my Kokiri, and that's why. Don't expect that I'll wear this ever again."

Oh. That's…

I put the flower back on its stem and fuse the two back together with my foresty magic. It has a name, Saria taught it to me, but I forgot what it's called so I'll just call it foresty magic.

"What do you like then?"

"Well, for one, I like it when people do work diligently instead of ask questions with no purpose."

Huh.

"…What does diligent mean?"

Oh, a pretty rock. It's a nice shade of red, and it's got six sides. I like blue more, but red is very cool too. I wonder if Navi likes rocks?

"It means hard-working or efficient."

Ooh, that means I should work hard and make Navi happy. I put the rock in Storage for now.

"Navi?" I call, one last time.

She mumbles something under her breath, and then speaks up a bit louder, "What now!?"

I've been wondering this for a while and never bothered to ask, but now is a good time. "What's a sword, anyways?"

I hear Boney's arm shift in front of his mouth as Navi falls off his finger. Oh, I hope she's okay.

"A sword," She says, kinda strained, good, she's alright, "is a weapon the Outsiders use. It's sharp and pointy and metal. Imagine a really, _really_ sharp, silver stick. Understandable?"

I try to imagine it.

A sharp, pointy, silver stick…

Heh heh, that looks weird!

"Got it!" I laugh. This is kinda like Hide-and-Seek, or wait, no, a scavenger hunt, just there are practically no hints at all.

What would the hint be for a place like this? I'm already looking in the grass so I'll just keep looking in the grass.

I crawl around in the grass eagerly, brushing my hands through it, smiling. Nothing comes up and I start frowning.

What's the next hint? There's nothing here. Do I just have to keep…

Oh, wait, the rock! The pretty red rock; that was my hint! I gotta find a place with a lotta rocks.

I get off of my hands and knees and jog over to the big rocks, our agility training courses or somethin' like that. Jumping around comes in handy when running from or taming Wolfos.

I probably shouldn't get on my knees in the dirt, so I crouch down and hop around, kinda like a frog. Ooh, I can pretend to be a frog. Frogs are cool.

I ribbit and giggle every hop I take and then Navi hears me.

"Link!? What are you doing!?"

"Ribbit!"

"No, _not_ ribbit, what are you doing? We're supposed to look for the sword!"

"I'm a frog!"

"Huh?"

"Frogs are _very_ good at finding things."

I just said that. I don't actually know if frogs are good at finding things, but I bet they are.

"…Well, if you insist." And then she goes back to flitting around Boney and pointing out things that he didn't see.

I go back to being a frog.

"Ribbit."

Hop.

"Ribbit."

Hop.

"Ribbit- What?"

There's a hole in the wall over there. It's really, really spooky, but it's that spooky feeling where it's like, 'gee, I bet it's spooky, I should go take a look.' I open my mouth and turn around; about to call for Navi, when I realize, nono, don't call Navi, this will be fun. Adventure.

So I stay quiet and hop over to the hole, not forgetting to ribbit to make things sound natural, and look around it a little bit.

I've been squealing quietly for the past few minutes and I only just now took notice of that, so I shut up and look into the hole.

Smells like dirt and trees.

Nice.

I grin and start crawling through the entrance.

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 **A/N:** second chapter came out earlier than i thought it would lol hope you like it **review please mom**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** STiLL donT Own It LOl

* * *

On second thought, it probably would have been a good idea to take Navi here. It's super dark and I keep bumping my head on the ceiling. Is it called a ceiling if it's a tunnel in the wall? Or is it something else?

If Navi was here, I could ask her…

But she's not because I didn't ask her to come with me, and now I'm stuck in this hole without her. I lost the dandelion from Boney a while back too, so now I'm all alone. Nice.

…I wonder if I could just crawl back out and ask Navi-

NO! This is adventure time! I can't ask Navi to babysit me on adventure time!

I scrape my elbow on the hard rock and hiss a bit 'cause it hurts a little, my head bumps into the ceiling, I'm just gonna call it that, at least five times, and I keep getting squeezed because the hole gets tighter and wider every once in a while.

It's really long, too, and I can't see the end of it- whoops, never mind, there it is.

I tiredly, is that a word, pull myself out the little tunnel and stretch, feeling joints and bones pop. It smells weird here. Like, more foresty than the other places. I wonder why. I look around a bit and frown.

That's… odd.

I can't exactly place it, but… it's very weird here.

Birds are tweeting, there's a creek rushing in the distance, the ferns sway gently...

I can see deer in the distance, happily munching on some plants. A bear lumbers to my left, brown fur all soft and stuff.

None of the plants around here are trampled; over there we have set paths that we take when we go foraging, but nothing here has been pushed aside or anything.

…

There's something… wrong here.

…

…Nobody's ever been here before.

OH.

I get all excited and run around in a circle for a bit, grunting, "YES!" over and over again and doing stupid flappy bird dances because _maybe I was right, maybe the sword IS here-_

But I still don't know where to go because there aren't any more hints but I'm going to ignore that for now.

I do a little dance absently, kicking my legs back and forth and humming to Saria's song. This place is _huge._ It's… all forest, too. It's a lot darker than I thought it was at first, too. Probably because there's a lot more trees.

I hear a branch snap to my right.

An owl hoots.

A chill runs up my spine and I chuckle nervously, stopping my dancing.

"Hello?" I shout. "Is anyone here?"

…

…

…

 _MmmMMm no one is answering-_

"I'm just gonna leave now," I say loudly, turning around, "Sorry to bother you-,"

Better get going then! I bend down to crawl back through the whole but then I stop because I hear _rumbling_ behind me.

I turn around quickly and _THERE'S A MASSIVE BOULDER ROLLING AT ME,_ _ **WHAT-**_

I scream and sprint away to the left, oh, whoops, I scared the bear- BUT IT'S _FOLLOWING ME, WHY?_

Corners! I can find corners, circles don't fit in squares, but then I scream again _BECAUSE THIS IS A FOREST, IT DOESN'T HAVE CORNERS-_

"Farore's Breeze!" I yell, waving a hand and casting a spell on my boots. I start running a bit faster, _ooh, why didn't I learn Farore's Wind from Saria while I had the chance-_

I swerve to the left, bushes and twigs nicking my ankles, scraping my thighs, but this _stupid enchanted BOULDER KEEPS FOLLOWING ME!_

It's enchanted, you can tell, because for one, it's sparkling, and second, _normal boulders don't actually chase after little boys, I think,_ I mean, you can never be sure but-

Stop getting distracted, focus, focus, I need to find a way to get it off my tail. Think, me, _think._

It's a wide boulder.

 _Jump over the fallen tree._

Trees.

 _Behind the rock._

 _GOT IT, YES-_

I keep running and look around desperately, searching for-

FOUND IT, _YESSSS-_

I run for the two trees standing next to each other and bolt in between them, hoping that it does what I hope it does, whoops, I said hope twice-

There's a crash, and then the toppling of two trees.

 _NO, THAT'S NOT-_

"AH!" I cry as the tree on the right almost lands on me. I roll to the side, just barely avoiding it, and keep running.

This is bad. _Really_ bad. I thought that maybe the trees would stop the boulder but the rock is way too big and the trees were way too flimsy.

I need sturdier trees.

 _THIS IS A FOREST WHY CAN'T I FIND TREES-_

Wait. Maybe if it loses track of me, it'll stop chasing me?

It's a risk, but I'm willing to take it.

I whirl through the trees, weaving back and forth, jumping and grabbing onto some higher branches and swinging up, leaping from tree to tree.

If I can get up into the leaves from here, maybe it won't be able to see me? I climb a bit higher and sit down on one of the branches, looking below.

It's waiting at the bottom of the tree I'm in like a starving Wolfos.

I almost feel kinda bad for it. If I drew eyes on it and made it whine, it would look like a sad pup.

Aww.

I'm not gonna be able to get down at this rate, so I shimmy up the tree into the more thickly leaved part and then jump to the next tree, grabbing a branch and swinging upside down, holding on to my hat so it stays on.

Is it following me?

The brown rock rolls over to my tree and I groan aloud.

Even if I called for Navi, at this point, she wouldn't even be able to hear me. I did get pretty far away, after all.

…I'll just stay up in the trees for now.

I swing back and forth on the branch and launch myself to the next tree, the boulder thundering on behind me.

I'm pretty sure the same deer I saw earlier are staring at this rock following a Kokiri around. That's funny. I wonder what they were thinking?

 _Look at that Kokiri, being chased by a rock. It's funny, huh, Momma Deer?_

Something like that.

I jump to the next tree, spring to the next one, grab onto a branch, swing to the next tree, land on the next branch, and crouch down, searching for the boulder.

There's no more rumbling or shininess…

…I can't see it anywhere.

Huh.

I think I lost it.

Yes!

I stand up again and do happy dance when I hear an ominous _crack_ sound coming from beneath me.

Everything slows down.

I gasp and turn around, about to jump off. There's that sick feeling of weightlessness and dread that hits the pit of my stomach as the branch _snaps_ right beneath me. My eyes widen and then squeeze shut.

I'm hovering in midair for a few moments as my feet slip out from underneath me before time comes back in full force and I fall screaming to the forest floor with this stupid branch.

I smash into other branches, leaves and twigs slapping me in the face before I land in a convenient bush, sticks poking and jamming into my back. I groan and roll off, clutching my stomach and crawling onto all fours.

I hack and cough because I can't get air into my lungs and everything hurts and it's still dark.

Probably because I haven't opened my eyes yet.

When I can breathe properly, I roll over onto my back and open my eyes. Green everywhere. The canopy is green, my vision is kinda tinted green a lil' bit. I blink a few times, disoriented.

I feel something prodding at my side so I look over and- aww, it's a squirrel. It looks at me with big black eyes and chitters.

I try to frown but it's really cute and stuff so I start laughing instead.

The squirrel jumps onto my chest and tickles my nose with its tail. I sniff and jerk my head back.

"Get your tail out of my face." I murmur, petting it. It squeaks in response. I grin.

Aww.

The squirrel jolts up, looking around, then scampers off my chest into the bushes.

"Aw, no, come back…!" I call after it, but it doesn't come back.

I lie on the ground a pout for a few before standing up and brushing the dirt and leaves off of me, bruises and scratches aching.

Where am I, anyways? It's really peaceful here. I can hear birds chirping and the wind blowing, rustling the leaves and making nice sounds. Bluebells are growing here too. Navi's dress must have been made from these.

It's a very nice place. I like it.

Still don't know where I am, though.

* * *

 **A/N:** See. Look at him. He's a real genius.

 **review _please_** mothers i love you hope you liked it lol again follow the ask blog if you wanna lmaooo


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** dont own hope you like the chap :D

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"I am lost, I am lost, I am very lost! Very super lost, la la la la…" I sing loudly, rolling around in the grass and flowers before flopping down on my stomach and pouting. Saria's song is really nice to sing because I can put whatever words I want into it and it'll still kinda make sense. I do it a lot because it's funny.

I let out a deep breath. This was a horrible idea. Now I'm stuck here and I don't know where I am and Navi will never find me and then I'll be all alone. For _eternity._

And actually, now that I think about it, that would be really scary because Kokiri can live forever, y'know? Being alone forever sounds really scary. I wonder how the first One felt when he was born. Saria tells me about him a lot; his name was Coro apparently. He was only by himself for about half a century but it still must have been really lonely...

I bet Coro was happy when Saria was born. He wasn't alone.

Oh, boy, now I'm getting jittery. I don't wanna be alone forever.

Oh, man, actually, being _forgotten_ would be worse. That would be _horrible._

137 years of time spent with everybody just... gone. I think I'd cry really hard if that happened.

A bee lands on a bluebell right in front of my nose and I have to go cross eyed to see it clearly before I start laughing quietly. Everything looks funny when you go cross eyed. It's like there're two bees and that's really really funny to me for some reason.

I stare after it as it flies to a different blue flower, crawling inside and doing the fun bee stuff that bees do.

I wish I was a bee.

I bet bees have a lotta fun doin' their fun bee things.

It flies over to another flower and I flinch because something really bright catches my eye and it hurts to look at it straight on-

Wait, what?

I shoot up, squinting my eyes and shading them with my hands. There's something gleaming and silver over there behind the trees and it's shaped kinda like a stick…

...

Wait, wait, stop. Stop. Hold up.

No way.

Is it…?

Excitement bubbles up and I whoop loudly, skipping over to the shiny silver thing, dancing and twirling and screaming, "YES!"

It's getting closer and I can see it more clearly and I THINK IT'S THE SWORD AFTER ALL, IT HAS TO BE-

I trip over my feet and fall face first into the flowers with an angry grunty sound, skidding in the dirt for a bit. I sit back up again, rubbing my nose because it hurts a bit and flicking a piece of grass off my head. Standing up, I dust myself off, carefully brushing dirt off my scraped knees. It would be bad if it got infected.

 _BUT GUESS WHAT'S RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME-_

I start giggling and jumping up and down because it's right there in front of me, the sword!

The metal part is lodged into the stump of an old, fallen tree, gleaming and sparkling and I scream again because there's nobody here to hear me other than the animals and they're not gonna tell anybody.

I look at it carefully. The Sword's kinda a weird shape for a stick, less sticky and more… swordy.

I start laughing because that really didn't make sense.

Is it even a stick? Sure, the shiny part looks kinda like a flat, sharp stick but then the top part looks really weird, like a chunk of wood right by the shiny part with a place to hold and then a little round thingy at the bottom.

There's a really pretty red stone in the chunk of wood by the shiny part and it's ringed with this yellow stuff, I think it's that stuff Saria calls _gold,_ and wow that's really pretty. I like it a lot.

I jump up and down eagerly.

What's it gonna do?

What if it's like some sort of evil monster and it _corrupts_ me if I touch it?

… Should I touch it?

I kinda wanna touch it.

I hesitantly graze my fingers over the shiny part and immediately draw it back. It's smooth and cold and feels weird. I start jittering again because I'm so excited.

 _aaAaaAAAAAAAAAAA-_

W… What about the handle part? It looks like it's wrapped with leather or something like that or maybe it's just designed wood…

I grab it in my hand and it fits surprisingly well. It's leather, too, from the feel of it.

"Whoa…" It hasn't taken over me yet so I guess that's a good sign? I wonder if I can pull it out of the stump… It should work, right? It's just wood. I grab the handle part, definitely leather, with both hands and pull gently, drawing it out of the stump.

Wait! Wait, I need to redo that.

I jam it back into the stump and then stand up onto the wood. It needs to be big! Something cool like _bam_ because this is a _big_ moment.

I take hold of the handle and pull it out again, but this time, I yell, " _DA DA DA DAAAAAA!"_ Pointing the sword up into the trees, I say in an _authoritative_ voice, "You got the Kokiri Sword!"

 _Man, this is so COOL!_

It's so bright and shiny and heroic looking and it doesn't feel like a bad guy at all! It's like... something to protect me. It's nice.

After I finish playing around with it, I start frowning. I don't wanna just carry this around like this. What if I trip? And fall? And stab myself? That would be bad.

I need to find something to hold it in, like some sort of protective cover thing. Hmm…

I pace around the stump and accidentally kick something. I lean down and pick it up.

It's a sleek, blue, long thing, just the size and shape of the Kokiri Sword.

Well.

Found a protective cover thing. That's nice.

I slip the sword into the cover and hold it out.

Whoa… It looks real pretty like this. Like it's complete.

I wonder if it fits on my shoulder strap? I mean, there's a belt loop that I could _probably_ fit it in… I place the sword on the stump again and take a seat next to it, pulling off my shoulder strap and fiddling with the belt loop.

I take the cover thing off the sword and shove it through the belt loop, the slightly thicker opening thing, a mouth, maybe, at the top stopping it from slipping through completely. I put the sword back into the cover and put my strap back on.

I grin happily and do a little dance.

" _…iink!"_

I freeze, mid-dance.

" _Hey! Where did you go!?"_

Is that Navi? I think I hear Navi-

" _Link?"_

It _is_ Navi! She came looking for me!

"OVER HERE!" I beam and yell back.

 _"Oh, good Goddesses, there you are- Just wait there; I'll be right over!"_

"OOOKAAY!" I shout, and then plop down on the stump, kicking my feet back and forth absently. Now, I just gotta wait for Navi to get here and she'll be so proud of me for finding the Sword-

Wait, I just-

"WATCH OUT FOR THE BOULDER-," I scream but I'm too late.

I hear Navi screech and then, _"What the- get away from me!"_

I giggle. Navi's funny. "JUST FLY UP!"

A pause and then, _"I-I knew that!"_

I laugh again and say, "HEY, GUESS WHAT I FOUND?" in a sing-song voice.

 _"Oh, pardon, Mr. Squirrel- What?"_

"YOU HAVE TO GUESS!" The whole point of the game is to _guess,_ I'm not just gonna tell her-

She groans very loudly. _"Ugh, just wait for me to get over there, okay? How did you even get over there?"_

"I fell!" I say, happily.

 _"What?"_

Did she not hear me? Maybe I should say it louder. "I FELL-,"

 _"I GOT THAT, BUT FROM WHERE!?"_

Wow okay that was loud- "I think you're getting closer Navi, so you don't have to shout!"

" _Oh, alright. Where did you fall from?"_

"A tree."

"What?!" Navi bursts into the clearing, breathing heavily and pulsing with blue light. Now's my chance! I turn around and show off the Sword proudly. I grin and wait.

"Okay, you fell from a tree…" She pants, brushing herself off. C'mon, turn around… "And then…" She turns around, slightly reddish before she just _stops._

Silence.

I feel a grin crawling up on my face and I can barely hide my giggles.

She explodes, getting so bright that I have to squint to see properly. "You found it!?"

"Yep! Now we can go to the Great Deku Tree!" Oh, man, I hope she's happy with this because I worked real hard to get here!

She clears her throat again. "Wow, I am very pleasantly surprised. Good job, Link."

I feel blood rushing to my face and oh, wow, I feel very, _very_ happy with that compliment.

"Now all we have to do is get a shield."

I'm pretty sure Yerbal has some shields left, so that's good. I've pretty much got this in the bag. I'm feeling really happy and I'm smiling and this is gonna be a great life from now on, ooh, I'm so excited!

Navi mumbles under her breath, just loud enough for me to catch, "And then I'll be over with this…"

I freeze. My gut feels like it was ripped out and like I'm just this hollow shell.

I'll be over with this? Wh...What's that supposed to mean?"

…She probably means the whole Great Deku Tree thing. That's it. Be happy, Link. Navi complimented you. You're a good boy.

I slide off the stump and start walking away, calling, "C'mon, we gotta go get a shield. Do you know the way back?"

"Oh, alright." Navi flutters ahead of me, changing her color to a piercing yellow. "Follow me."

I open my mouth to say something but I close it right after. I ball my hands up in the skirt of my tunic and bite my lower lip.

"Okay."

I follow her into the woods, pushing back branches that get in my face and stepping over fallen, mossy logs.

"S-So? How'd you find me?" I ask, trying to make conversation. Maybe I can lighten the mood a bit.

"Well, you went missing so I looked around for a bit before I found the hole, I went through and looked around, started yelling for you... Not too difficult." She answers.

...Well, that's just. Great.

We walk in silence for a few minutes until she asks, "How'd you find the sword, anyways? You never told me the full story."

O-Oh, she's interested! I grin and look up, "W-Well, that boulder started chasing me, so I climbed... up a tree..." I stop in my tracks and stare at Navi, who's hovering in the same location.

We share a look and _run._

"WHERE IS IT!?" Navi screeches, zipping after me.

"I DUNNO, NAVI, WE JUST GOTTA BE CAREFUL- _THERE IT IS, NEVER MIND-,"_ The boulder bursts in from the left, toppling trees and slamming into other ones, hot on our heels.

Navi shrieks and flies upwards, out of the way of the boulder.

"HEY, NO FAIR!" I yell, dodging over a rock. "I CAN'T FLY!"

"You're the one who told me to fly up, _I'm doing what you told me to do-,"_

"Not _NOW,_ I MEANT BEFORE-,"

"I DON'T CARE-,"

I sprint and weave in between trees, breathing heavily as the enchanted rock keeps rolling behind me. I need to get rid of this somehow or else I won't be able to get back and get a shield!

I yell up at Navi, "HOW DO I GET RID OF IT!?"

"I dunno, use magic or something!? You Kokiri use magic a lot right, there has to be at least _one spell_ you know that can-,"

I choke, "WHAT KIND OF MAGIC ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!? I DON'T HAVE 'ROCK-BEGONE' MAGIC!"

"Could you stop _screaming for a little bit-_ How about destructive magic, explosive magic; you got any of that on you?" She yells back.

"W-Well, y-yeah, I guess I do, but..."

"Now's a perfect time to use it, Froggy, _hop to it."_

 _DID SHE JUST,_ "Now is _not_ the time for jokes Navi-,"

"WHATEVER, JUST USE IT!"

Fine! Fine, I just gotta explode it, is that it? Fine! I can do that! I can explode something-

I dig my feet into the ground and skid around, holding out my hand.

 _"DIN'S RAGE!"_

* * *

"Hey!"

 _"Hey, listen, get up!"_

My eyes pull themselves open and I get a good taste of dirt before crawling off the ground and spitting it out. My head hurts and everything's too bright.

Something painfully shiny and blue flies into view. "Oh, you're finally awake! Good morning, Link. Did you have a nice nap?"

I blink a few times and rub my eyes. "I think I burnt myself."

She flutters to my shoulder as I push myself upright. "Where?"

"...Everywhere."

"...Dang."

I stretch my back and look around.

I'm standing in the middle of a crater and some trees are on fire.

...At least the boulder is gone. That's a plus.

"You really did a number on the place. I can hear the tree spirits crying."

"You're joking, right?"

"...Maybe."

"..."

"...Yes, it was a joke, now let's go look for the way out. I have no idea where we are anymore."

We search around for the hole for a good half hour before we finally find it. My feet are sore, my head's still ringing, and by the time we find it, I'm hungry and tired. Navi flies in first and zips on out ahead of me as I slowly drag myself through, very exhausted.

I pull myself out of the hole and onto a more grassy area and flop onto my back, Navi settling right next to me. We rest for a few minutes, sore and sweaty.

Boney's head pokes into my field of vision.

"Hi, Boney... It's good to see you again."

He clatters questioningly.

"Yup." I say. "Found it."

Boney claps his hands, but his pinky finger falls off. He grabs it off the ground and holds it out to me.

I nod. "Got it."

I grab his pinky and stick it onto his hand again, casting a bit of magic to keep it in. The bone pops back into place, good as new, and Boney rattles appreciatively.

"Welcome."

My stomach growls. I'm hungry.

* * *

 **A/N:** ayy hope you liked it hope you review tried to make it longer this time

and yes you read that right he is 137 years old

 **review** please :D hAPPY 30TH ZELD ANNIVERSARY


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** So I HAVE BEEN GONE FOR QUITE SOME WHILE ! BUT yknow what school is over now ! im on break ! so that means Guess What time to Pump Out The Updates tm alrighty dont own zelda ttyl in the a/n

* * *

After laying around for a few minutes, Navi flutters up, spraying fairy dust everywhere. She flaps her wings before turning to look at me and telling me to get up.

I really don't want to but I'll do it since Navi says so.

I groan and push myself onto my feet, I really wish I could go back to bed now, and stretch. My back pops and I shiver; _wow, that felt weird._

Well, at this point, I oughta head back to the village and go buy a shield! That can't be as much trouble as getting the sword was.

I start heading to the exit of the Training Grounds but I realize hey, maybe having the Sword strapped to my back is a bad idea. If Bucha sees me with it, he'll tell Saria and _man,_ Saria's scary when she's mad.

I take off my strap and take the sword and its protective cover thing outta the belt loop and pull up Storage, dropping it in. The twin gold runes flash around my wrists and vanish along with it.

Speaking of the sword, I should probably ask Navi what all the parts are called.

"Navi?"

She's sitting down on my shoulder but she'll still occasionally flap her wings, aww, there's fairy dust in my hair, and make little yawning sounds. Aww, she must be sleepy still. Maybe we can take a nap after all this is over.

"Yes?" She says mid-yawn.

"What're the sword parts called?"

She raises an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"You know, like, the sharp part is called…" I prompt.

"Ah," She exclaims, "I understand. Well, the sharp part is called a blade and it's made of metal."

We start moving again, Navi explaining to me that the weird shaped part by the blade is called a _cross-guard,_ and that the part I hold is called a _grip,_ and the little ball thingy at the very end is called a _pommel._ Then, she tells me that the whole section, cross-guard to pommel, is called a _hilt,_ and that the protective cover thingy is a _scabbard_.

Whoa.

Navi's really smart.

I wish I was as smart as her. I hope I'm as smart as her when I get older.

I exit the Woods and I'm feeling… what's the word? Dare-y? Is that it? Whatever the word is, I'm feeling like that, so instead of climbing down the vines, I jump down the cliff.

Navi yells at me for a bit about being reckless, _that's_ the word, but then she starts laughing so I guess everything's ok. I like it when people are laughing.

But right now I gotta focus! I gotta be careful because if Saria shows up, nobody will be laughing at all. I hope Saria's not around. Then I can avoid her for now and then just go buy a shield and go talk to the Great Deku Tree and then it'll all be over.

I duck behind a bush and peer over the leaves. No sign of her here…

Strong hands grab me around my waist and lift me up. I cry out and look around wildly.

"Link! You're back!"

…Or that. That's an option too.

Saria hugs me really tight and then starts twirling me around real fast. I'm screaming super loud in her ear but she just ignores it and keeps laughing.

She finally sets me down and steadies me while I stagger around, _gosh,_ I'm dizzy, and Hael and Navi start doing their little fairy chit chatting.

"Wait, you're a Guardian now?" Hael asks.

"Yup."

"Huh. Thought you'd be a Scholar or something. Being a Guardian doesn't really… y'know…"

"Suit me, I know, but the Great Deku Tree asked me to." Navi's this disgruntled shade of red that I'm not sure I like very much. Does she not like being a Guardian fairy? Is-

Saria slaps my back cheerfully. "I heard from Fado that you weren't at the Great Deku Tree's clearing like I thought you'd be! Where were you!?"

I scratch the back of my head. "The Lost Woods."

"Oh?" She says, eyes widening. "What were you doing in there?"

"Uh…"

Hi, so I was sorta trying to find the Kokiri Sword? Y'know that thing that's completely and totally banned and I'd get in huge trouble if I ever touched it, yeah, that. Alright, well I sorta found it and then I blew up part of the forest, whoops-

Yeah, let's _not_ say that.

"I was lookin' for something." I say instead, rocking back and forth on my heels.

She leans forward, hands on her hips. "What were you looking for?"

"Something." I draw out the o and avert my eyes. Maybe if I don't look at her, she won't notice that I'm lying.

She furrows her brows. "Link…"

"…'s a secret." I really don't like keeping secrets from Saria because she _always_ finds out and then I get in really big trouble and she makes me feel bad.

She purses her lips. "Link, c'mon. I'm your best friend."

A spike of guilt rams into me and I kick the ground nervously. "Yeah, but… It's still a secret."

"I'll give you a present if you tell me." She says slyly, grinning.

I bite my lip. "Nope."

"Nothing's gonna get you to tell me?"

I grin. "Nothing."

Saria drops her head. "…Okay then." _Nice,_ crisis averted, now all I have to do is go buy-

I hear a sniffle and my heart skips a beat.

"I…I just gotta deal with the fact that little Seven is growing up, then." She buries her face in her hands and her shoulders shake.

Nope! _Nope!_ I'm _not_ falling for _this_ again! She does this every single time and I'm _not_ gonna fall for it again.

I cross my arms and say, a little fake-smugly, "Yup. I'm a big kid now." Remember, Link, this is an _act._ She's not actually sad.

"I-It's okay," She murmurs and wipes her nose on her sleeve, "You can keep secrets from me… You're a big boy now…" She doubles over again and sobs, "But it makes me so _sad-,"_ before she stars wailing uncontrollably.

I wave my hands around wildly, shouting, "H-Hey, hey, hey, stop, please? I-I know it's a trick a-and you're not gonna make me fall for it again-,"

Navi and Hael finally take notice of what's happening and they speed on over, Hael sitting down protectively on Saria's head. "Oh, Saria, sweetie, it's gonna be okay… Don't worry…" and they start whispering in hushed, quiet voices.

Navi flies over and whaps me on the cheek lightly. "You made her cry."

"Nonono, you don't understand- She's doing this on purpose to make me tell her about the- the _that!"_ I whisper anxiously.

"Ohh… I got it."

Saria cries out _very loud_ and Hael's immediately there with comforting words and small fairy hugs.

"… You sure? She's crying pretty hard, y'know." Navi mutters, a discouraged purple.

"Yeah!" I shout. "I-I mean… I think? I hope? Oh, no, what if she's actually-,"

Hael is all of a sudden all up in my face, shouting loud and angrily. "She's _crying,_ Seven! Come on! Isn't there _anything_ you can do!?"

It really really bothers me because her voice is all robotic and fake sounding like it's bad acting or something but I still have to do something because everybody's mad at me and maybe Saria's crying for real this time.

I bite my lip and walk over to Saria, putting my hand on her shoulder. "Saria, I'll, uh, I'll tell you, so please stop… crying…"

She sniffs again, looking up a bit, but not enough that I can see her eyes. "Really?"

"Yeah!" I nod nervously. "Everything."

"Everything?"

"Yup."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

There's silence for a few and then she starts chuckling very slowly and quietly and there's this small part of me that's saying that's just _screaming, I KNEW IT-_

She looks up, a devious grin on her face and _completely_ dry eyes. She grabs me and pulls me into a friendly headlock, mussing my hair and cackling evilly.

I knew it. I _knew it_.

"You _promised!"_ She sings loudly, dragging me awkwardly over to her house. "Tell me _everything_ over breakfast."

I groan. "You're such a butthole."

"Proud of it, lil' bro."

* * *

Saria's been staring at me with her mouth wide open for a while now and I'm kinda worried that she's frozen. I realy hope she's not.

Ew, I can see food in her mouth. That's yucky, Saria. Close your mouth when you eat.

"Saria?" I lean over the table and wave my hand in front of her face. "Are you okay?"

Saria doesn't respond, so I sit back down, stuffing another mouthful of fruit into my mouth.

The Kokiri Sword is out of Storage and is sitting on Saria's table, right next to the fruits and the deku seeds we're eating. Deku Fruit tastes really good. It's like… crisp and juicy but it's kinda spongey, which is cool. It's a nice shade of orangey yellow, the kind that just tells you that dang, this fruit is gonna taste really good. It's really sweet and fresh and kind of citrusy and kind of melony- Delicious. I love it.

Deku seeds though? They're kinda dry and yucky and we only eat them because the Great Deku Tree says they've got this stuff called _fiber_ in them or something and apparently that's good for us. Sometimes Saria and I skip eating deku seeds though.

"So…" Saria surprises me and I start choking on a piece of deku fruit before Navi throws herself into my back and I cough it out.

"Yeah? Thanks, Navi."

"Don't mention it."

Saria's looking at me kinda weird, her mouth is still open but she's squinting her eyes and her eyebrows are in different places on her forehead. I wanna laugh a little bit but it's probably not a good idea right now because Saria's _very_ mad.

I try to copy the look on her face but I don't think it worked very well because my face is pulling in ways it's not supposed to.

"Okay…" She brings her hands out and I _know_ I'm in trouble because whenever Saria's mad she starts gesturing a lot.

She slaps a finger into her palm. "Navi told you to go to the Great Deku Tree."

"Uh-huh."

Another finger. "But Mido stopped you."

"Yup."

A third. "He told you to go find the Kokiri Sword and a shield."

I nod this time because I don't really wanna say yes again.

A fourth, wow, it's not stopping, is it. "You went to look for it and ended up in some part of the Forest Training Center that we've never explored and doesn't have paths."

"…Saria, are you okay? Your voice is getting really high pitched."

Fifth finger. "You started getting chased by an _enchanted boulder-,"_

"Saria, I know that sounds fake but it's _real,_ promise! You can even ask Navi!"

She starts counting on her other hand mid-sentence. "-and you started climbing trees," A seventh finger, "and then you _fell on the Kokiri Sword_?"

"No, I didn't fall _on_ it, I fell _near_ it, and Saria, I'm really sorry, please don't get mad-,"

An eighth. "And then Navi came and you guys tried to leave but ended up _exploding part of the forest."_

I avoid her eyes and push my food around, heat rising in my face, and Saria looks up with the most conflicted expression on her face. She looks a mix between scared and confused and angry and I wanna laugh again for no reason whatsoever other than this nervous feeling bubbling in my chest that I really wanna get rid of.

"What kind of- _Why-,_ " She stammers, throwing her arms around wildly, "How do you even manage to get in that much trouble in one hour?"

Navi barks out a sharp laugh. "I took my eyes off of him for _one_ second."

I balk at her and make upset strangled noises from the back of my throat. I trusted her to back me up!

But then Hael whips around, pointing a finger at Navi, saying, "You're his _Guardian,_ you're _never_ supposed to take your eye off your Kokiri!"

"You're in _so_ much trouble, Link, I _swear-,"_

"Navi, if you mess up like this again, I'll have the Great Deku Tree send you back to school and you can spend all of your time with the _newly spawned fairies!"_

And then both Navi and I, sitting at the table in Saria's house, are lectured by our respective big sisters for the next half hour.

* * *

 **A/N:** howdy lmao well im back from a what 3 month break or smth? jeez that was hella long break to take ahaha  
BUT IM BACK ! HI GUYS ! thank u for waiting so long aah

review ! bbye


	6. Chapter 6

**disclaimer:** yeha i dont own this have fun reading please review

* * *

By the time it's over, I'm somehow doing a handstand on Saria's table and Navi is juggling deku seeds on my heel.

Hael is floating with her arms and legs crossed and she's nodding her approval of the situation and Saria is trying to copy her or something but she looks just about to burst with laughter at any moment now.

I help her out by making a stupid face.

Saria's face turns an odd shade of red and she slaps a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing but a few snickers leak out anyways.

Hael frowns at her, kinda disapprovingly, but she sighs and says, "Fine, get off the table, both of you. We gotta go buy a shield, right?"

I let Navi off my foot and roll off the table, landing safely on the floor. Navi flutters up sharply, throwing aside the deku seeds.

"Wait, you're coming with us?" She asks.

"Of course!" Hael grumbles. "I gotta make sure that you don't mess up again, alright?"

Saria leans over and whispers to me, "We're not mad anymore, by the way. I think Hael just wants to go on an adventure with you guys."

I giggle. "Yup. Look at her; she's yellow."

And it's true; Hael is shining a bright, excited shade of yellow, zipping around and yelling at Navi.

"Come on, already! We gotta go fast; the Great Deku Tree is waiting!" Hael yells eagerly, grabbing Navi by the hand and pulling her towards the curtain.

Saria sighs and shakes her head. "Hael, we need something to trade, remember?"

Something to trade…

"Like what, One?"

"I dunno… Yerbal likes shiny things."

Shiny things?

Shiny…

…

Oh! I got it!

The shiny red rock! That one, the one I found! I wanted to give it to Navi but I bet if I use it now, she'll be happier.

I stick my hand into Storage and find the rock, pulling it out.

"Hmm… What shiny things are there?"

"Hey, guys."

"What?" Saria and Navi look over and I hold up the red shiny proudly.

"A…A rupee?" Navi asks. I dunno what a rupee is but, okay, whatever she says. "Where did you find that?"

"When I was looking for the sword," I explain, "I was looking through the grass and I found this instead."

Is she happy? I hope she's happy.

"…Good job. C'mon, let's go to the shop, buy the shield, and head on over to the Great Deku Tree."

She flies out and I pout a bit, puffing out my cheeks. Not exactly what I wanted, but I guess it's okay.

Hael and Saria follow Navi out and I sit there for a moment staring at the rupee before standing up and trailing after them to the shop.

* * *

"What?! _Why?!"_ Saria exclaims, smacking her hands on the counter.

"I don't… want that…" Yerbal mutters, scratching the back of his hand nervously.

"C'mon, Yerbal!" Saria swipes the rupee from the wooden surface and sticks it in his face. "Have you ever seen such a shiny rock before? It's a steal, y'know!"

"I already said; I-I don't wanna accept that for a trade-,"

"Yerbal, come _on._ If you don't accept this then we'll just _make_ a shield!"

He gasps and looks up at Saria from underneath his thick red bangs. "What!? You can't do that!"

Saria crosses her arms and shuts her eyes, a smug look on her face. "I can and I will. Right, Link?"

I jerk to attention and nod eagerly in response to whatever Saria said earlier because I _definitely_ wasn't listening. I was thinking about that Deku Scrub that was all alone in the Lost Woods a few days ago. "Yeah!"

Yerbal stares at us dryly for a few moments before grumbling off to find a shield. "C'mon,'s not fair, this is _my_ shop. _I_ should make the rules…"

Saria smirks and lobs the fist-sized gem at Yerbal, who narrowly dodges it. He glares at us and continues shifting through the little closet where he keeps all of his stuff.

"Hey, just 'cause you're One doesn't mean you get to be mean to my lil' shopkeep, alright?!" Yerbal's fairy shouts angrily.

"Ophus, you're _embarrassing_ me, don't call me your lil' shopkeep in front of everybody!"

"Why should that embarrass you? You're my lil' shopkeep and that's all that matters-,"

Saria and I giggle because Ophus does this all the time and it's really cute and funny. Yerbal always gets really mad at him because he wants to look cool and stuff, but everybody knows that he loves Ophus just as much. They grumble at each other and Saria starts laughing harder, but I stop.

I rub at the back of my neck.

I wonder if I'll ever be like this with Navi?

Yerbal comes back disgruntled and holding a wooden shield just big enough for me. "Here, take this."

I grab it from his hands and hold it out in front of me, looking at the carved out insignia on the face of the shield. It kinda reminds me of the Kokiri Emerald, the one that the Deku Tree protects, and it looks really cool.

"Thank you." I say quietly, nodding thankfully.

Yerbal frowns and puts his chin in his hand. "…Yeah, 's no biggie. We gotta help each other out, right?"

I grin. "Yup."

Saria squeezes Yerbal in her arms for being a nice little brother, _AW, YOU'RE SO CUTE, stop it, Saria._ I also hugged him because he's my little brother too, and we head out of the shop.

* * *

I'm about to run off to Mido, but Saria grabs me by the arm and drags me behind some trees.

"Well, now we gotta go show these things off to Mido, right?" Saria says, one hand on her hip, head cocked just slightly to the side. "Remember, y'gotta stand like this; it shows that you mean _business_. And by business, I mean business so serious you're not gonna let Mido stop you!"

I wanna laugh because Saria looks funny but I instead copy her pose and nod. "Okay. Is this good?"

Saria frowns. "…Move your leg out a little more."

I move my leg.

"…No, not that one, the _other_ one."

"How 'bout now?" I ask.

"…You gotta look like you're saying something really rudewithout actually saying it."

How do I do _that?_

I raise my brow shakily but Saria just sighs and shakes her head. "Nah, you and your baby face can't do that. Just move your arm up a bit more."

"Hey! I _do not_ have a baby face!"

"Yes, you do, and a little higher…"

I move my arm up and I'm sure that I look really, really stupid, but she looks me over for a few and then gives me a thumbs up. "Good! Now, off we go-,"

"Uh, One?" Navi interrupts.

Saria pauses mid-step. "Yeah, Navi?"

"I… I'd prefer it if you stayed here, One." She says.

But why? Saria's bigger and stronger than me; it'd be easier to do whatever the Great Deku Tree wants me to do with her.

Saria voices my thoughts. "Why?"

For some reason, Navi's a mix between an apprehensive shade of lilac and her normal turquoise. "Because… uh…"

"Because…?"

Navi looks up, she's _definitely_ anxious, and says, "You know, Link should stand up to Three by himself! He's gonna have to deal with it for a… for a _long_ time, so y'know…"

Navi's acting strange. I don't like this.

Is she lying?

…No, Navi wouldn't lie. Lying is what the bad guys in all the stories the Great Deku Tree tells do. Navi's not a bad guy.

Saria rubs her thumb over her lip, it's a habit she has when she thinks something over real carefully, and after a few moments, she nods slowly. "I…guess."

She grabs my left hand and grips it tightly in both of hers, gosh, I hope my hand isn't sweaty, and looks into my eyes really deep. She has reallypretty blue eyes; they're a bit darker than mine, but they're still really blue and pretty. "Can I watch? I'll yell at him if he gets too mean."

Hael sighs, a hint of a chuckle mixed in. "Navi's right this time. You should let Seven do it himself, alright? No use being over protective."

Saria glares at Hael, she never lets go of my hand, screwing up her lips and furrowing her brows. "Oh, fine! Link can go do it himself, I got it."

She turns back to me and grasps my hand tighter. "Promise me you'll be okay, got it?"

I tilt my head to the side. "Whaddya mean? It's not the Great Deku Tree's gonna do anything weird… It's probably just another one of his stories again-,"

 _It's just another normal day. We all said that._

 _JUSTWANTEDTOBEWITHHER-_

My breath hitches and I freeze for a moment. My vision's tunneled in and I can only focus on this small patch of ground right in front of me, my breathing is too heavy and _who is 'her-'_

"I know, Link, but be careful, okay?" Saria says, barely snapping me out of my little moment. "Lately, I've felt there's something… _odd_ about the Forest. I know that it's probably just a baseless feeling, but… just be careful, got it?"

 _A blond haired girl, she's singing, save her,_ ** _SAVE HER-_**

"Y-Yeah." I say absently, trying to clear my mind.

Saria stares at me worriedly and lets go of my hand. She sighs. "Alright, then."

She grabs my shoulders and whirls me around, surprising me, and gently pushes me off in the direction of Mido. "Get going!"

I smile nervously and nod. "Okay. Be back soon."

 _ **Wake up, sleepy head.**_

* * *

"There's Mido." I whisper, pulling my head back through the bush to face Navi. "Should I take the sword outta Storage now?"

She nods, so I reach out and pull the sword into my arms. The _sheathe_ is still on it, gosh, I love these new words, so I strap it on along with my shield. I stand up and adjust my belt before looking up at Navi and beaming.

"How do I look?!"

"Yeah, yeah, you look great." She mumbles half-heartedly, she didn't even glance at me, "Now get a move on; the Great Deku Tree is waiting."

I feel my happiness deflate for a few moments and my smile falters- I wanted her to say at least _something_ about how I look cool, but at least she said that I look great, so I stick a smile back on and say, "Thanks!" excitedly. "C'mon, let's go!"

I jump out of the bushes and sprint over to Mido, who's having an animated conversation with Sina about… ducks? I think, at least. He's doing the waddling thing that ducks do and quacking.

They're probably having that whole argument about geese and ducks, they've been fighting about it for a century and they really won't shut up about which is better. Can't they just like both?

"…Sina, you gotta agree that ducks are cool, okay?" Mido cries, stomping his foot.

"Yeah, but _geese,_ Mido!"

Knew it.

"Aw, geese can go-," He stops mid-sentence when he catches sight of me. "Fairy-less."

"Hi!" I say, waving my hand. Alrighty, just explain it. "Uh, so I brought the sword and shield-,"

"You _WHAT!?"_ Mido screams, grabbing the collar of my shirt and hauling me off my toes. Spit rains on my face and it's really gross. I squint and scrunch my nose a bit. His face is really close and it's super freckly and gosh, I didn't notice that _Mido_ has blue eyes, does _everybody_ here have blue-

"Um, I brought the sword and shield?" I repeat, trying to push Mido away. "If you could, uh, let go of me, I could show you…"

Navi zips outta the bushes now, man, she's a bit late, and lands on Mido's knuckles. "Let go of Link, okay? We got your stuff, now let us into the Great Deku Tree's clearing."

"But- how- why- _what!?"_ Mido stammers, shaking me back and forth.

"Le-e-e-et go-o-o-o!" My voice shakes when I say it and it's kinda funny so I laugh a bit.

"What're _you_ laughingat!?" He shouts, dropping me. I land on my butt on the ground, I'm doing that a lot today, and rub that bone that really hurts, not really sure what it's called. I stand up and dust myself off.

"Nothin'." I mumble, picking a piece of grass off my tunic.

Sina and Navi are having an argument, I see them in the corner of my eye, so that leaves me to deal with Mido.

"Uh, so are you gonna let us pass? We have the sword and shield, and you promised." I ask tentatively. I never know how to act around Mido because anything I say could get me in trouble and when I get in trouble, Mido tries to hurt me and I don't like being hurt.

Mido crosses his arms and sticks up his nose. "I never _promised_ you, I made a _deal_ with you."

"…That's the same as promising, right?" Is it different? I don't actually know.

"No, you silly, it's different!" Mido snarls. "Deals are… _different_ from promises! And stop being so cheeky, _Seven!"_

I don't like it when Mido calls me Seven because he always uses it as an insult. I wish he would stop.

…And was I being cheeky there? I was asking a real question, and Saria tells me that real questions are okay.

I'm pretty sure deals and promises are similar, too. I don't tell him that, though.

"Sorry." I hold my hands out appeasingly. "I didn't mean to sound cheeky."

I just gotta get to the Deku Tree fast because then I'll be able to hang out with Navi and have fun.

"How'd'ja even _find_ that thing in the first place!?" Mido asks and he's trying to sound mad but I can see that he's actually really curious about the sword.

I scratch the back of my head and grin. "I almost got Lost in the Woods."

Mido sighs and mumbles, "Of course _you'd_ almost get Lost, you're so clumsy all the time…" And then he says something _really_ quietly at the end about being careful, I didn't really hear him well, but I doubt I heard it right because he's not really the type of person to say that kind of thing.

He exhales really loudly, like _humph,_ and then grumbles off, yelling, "Come _ON,_ Sina!"

Sina backs off from Navi with a final scream about how Navi is a blue flyand zooms over to Mido's side, who stalks off muttering things about the Great Deku Tree and Saria.

Navi flutters over to me and lands on my shoulder. "… Well, let's just… go to the Great Deku Tree, then?"

I wave bye to Mido; he doesn't wave back but he sends this awkward sort of nod my way, like ' _I don't really care but whatever,'_ and it's funny because even though Mido's a meanie pants, he's still my big brother.

"Come _on,_ Link! The Great Deku Tree is _waiting!"_ Navi shouts, pulling at the tip of my ear.

It hurts a bit but I nod and run through the entrance to the clearing.

* * *

 **a/n:** guys please review my fic i worked hard i hope you liked it have fun also follow ask-number-seven .tumblr . com if you wanna see the ask blog for this fic i do all the art and stuff :^)


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** here's chap SEVEn guys lmao its the start of the shit storm hope yall like it! a lil gore warning so if youre uncomfortable w/ blood and goop and stuff then be careful

* * *

There's this little area before the Great Deku Tree that we have to walk through before we get to the clearing. We call it the Hallway because that's what the Great Deku Tree calls it, and usually it's really green and all the plants are growing and the flowers are really pretty.

But for some reason, the grass is getting sparser and drier with every step I take and it's turning brown, too. The air feels tense and it tastes nasty.

"N-Navi?" I whisper. There's no reason I should be whispering but I'm really scared right now so I do it anyways. "Are you sure Saria shouldn't-,"

"Yes. I'm sure."

I bite my lower lip and anxiously keep shuffling forwards until I reach the entrance to the clearing.

There's nothing to be worried about! The Great Deku Tree is really strong. This is just… a lack of water. That's it.

I step into the Great Deku Tree's clearing, fiddling with the hem of my tunic. "Great Deku Tree? Are you…"

My jaw drops.

"Great…Deku Tree?"

Instead of the vibrant green leaves and the rich brown trunk that I remember, he has sickly yellow, crumbling leaves and gray bark. The tree tops are half bare and the magic haze is fading in some parts, the grass is completely brown and dry. Blood is rushing in my ears, it's loud and warped and disgusting and _the Great Deku Tree-_

"Great Deku Tree!?" Navi screams, hands cupped around her mouth. "I'm back! And I brought Link!"

There is silence for a few, and then the rustling of leaves and the groaning of bark twisting.

"Ah…" The Great Deku Tree breathes, voice ethereal and deep. "Link? Is that you, dearest Seven?"

"Y-Yes!" I spit out, shocked. "Great Deku Tree, you-,"

He chuckles slowly, the laughter echoing through the clearing. "No cause for alarm, young Link. I am still alive, albeit not well. Please calm yourself and listen to my story." No, no, it's not time to listen to stories right now, Great Deku Tree, what is _happening-_

I shout, "B-But, wait, Great Deku Tree, you're-,"

"Not dying." He reiterates carefully, a weak smile curling his bark. "Please, listen to my story."

I sit down on the dry grass and take off my hat, twisting and stretching it in my hands. "O…Okay…"

He rumbles with raspy, deep laughter. "As to begin, I am certain that your slumber as of these past moons must have been restless. Have you been having nightmares?"

I nod because I'm pretty sure I had one this morning. I don't remember what I was having a nightmare about, but I know that I had one.

The wind blows and his leaves rustle as he sighs, discontented. "…How troubling. As the servants of evil gain strength, a vile climate pervades the land and causes nightmares to those sensitive to it."

Um. That didn't make much sense.

He laughs again when I purse my lips and cock my head to the side. "As… bad guys, I suppose you would call them, gain power, evil energy enters the land and causes nightmares."

Oh, that makes more sense. But that still doesn't explain why the Great Deku Tree looks like this.

He sees the look on my face and frowns. "I will be straight to the point about this topic, young Seven."

He's staring straight at me, beady, wooden eyes underneath thick eyebrows horribly gray and strangely dead looking. He breathes in and out, slowly.

"I have been cursed."

The breeze dies and the birds stop chirping.

 _…What?_

I force a grin on and stammer, "Great Deku Tree, that's- that's _really_ not funny, don't make jokes like that-,"

"It's not a joke, Link."

 _Navi?_

I look over at her with panic. "What do you mean, Navi? How- How can it _not_ be a joke- G-Guys, it's _not funny-,"_

"The Great Deku Tree is cursed, Link. That's why I brought you here." Navi says it dead seriously and I want to _cry._

 _No… No way, no, nononononono-_

I curl into myself and hold my head in my hands, whispering to myself, "This has got to be a dream. It's a dream! What else would it be?" Why else would I have gotten a _fairy,_ why else would I have found the Kokiri Sword, why else would the _Great Deku Tree-_

Navi grabs me by the tip of my ear and pinches _hard._ I squeak and pull back, tears pricking the corners of my eyes. "Ow."

"Snap out of it, Link." Navi snarls, and she sounds _angry,_ angry and boiling and- she's not red? She's worried and purple and _scared-_

"I need you to defeat the evil inside me, my Seven." The Great Deku Tree says again, quieter this time. I whip around and stare at him with wide eyes, swallowing hard.

"B-But, if _you_ can't beat it, the _Great Deku Tree,_ what can _I_ do?" There's no way any of this is happening because to be honest this is probably the nightmare he was talking about, I'm having it right now, that's why I don't remember any of it-

"Young Seven, please calm yourself down." The Great Deku Tree rumbles and I shut my eyes tight and whimper, "You're hyperventilating."

I don't even know what that word means but I'm getting lightheaded and dizzy, "But there's _nothing I can-,"_

"Yes, there is, young Link." The Great Deku Tree's picking and choosing what to say _really_ carefully, I can tell, he keeps hesitating in between his words, "I brought you here because I am certain that you are the only one able of saving me. Now please. Breathe."

I listen to the Great Deku Tree and swallow again, trying to even out my breathing. I open my eyes and pick at the grass beneath me.

This is so ridiculous. There's no way.

"There's… There's no way…" I mumble.

He creaks and groans before answering. "Yes, Seven. You can, in fact, help me."

…Really?

"But you're super strong and stuff. What can _I_ do?" I frown and fidget with the hem of my tunic.

The Great Deku Tree twists with laughter, it sounds a bit more hoarse and pained than usual, and says, "Ah, that is for you to determine for yourself. From what I can see, however, you could do a great many things, Link."

"I can?" Really? To be honest, that sounds nice; helping people and doing good things. I already try to do that, but a lot of the time, I mess up too bad and just cause trouble.

"Yes. You can."

Hope flares in my gut and I smile a little bit to myself as I twist some grass into a braid. Maybe I really can help.

"O-Okay, so what do you want Link- us to do?" Navi shouts nervously, interrupting me from my thoughts. She keeps looking back and forth between the Great Deku Tree and me like she's scared and I'm not sure if she's okay.

The Great Deku Tree grumbles a bit and shakes his leaves, it's more like shaking his twigs because he really doesn't have leaves anymore, before answering. "I need you to enter inside me and vanquish the evil there."

I don't really know what vanquish means, but I think it means something about defeating so I'll go with that.

"Do you happen to know what the evil is, Great Deku Tree?" Navi's starting to turn this _really_ interesting shade of purple, I didn't even know that this could be a color, it's so intense, and I heard from Saria that when fairies get brighter the stronger they feel an emotion so wow, Navi must be _very_ worried.

"It's a Gohma."

 _"Gohma!?"_ Navi starts flying around in circles and muttering to herself and I can't hear all too well what she's saying, so oh, well, I guess.

The Great Deku Tree clears his throat really loud, or at least makes the _harrumph_ sound because trees don't have throats, that means they can't clear their throats, and Navi looks up at him really abruptly. "Our time is running low. Navi, I need you to help young Link defeat Gohma, and then we can discuss the cause of my curse."

"O-Of course! Yes, Link, I'll help you, so come along. I need you to help me find a way in." Navi says and I just nod and follow her, excited. I can't wait to help the Great Deku Tree.

"Ah, there's no need for that. You see, on my left side, there should be the hole in which the Gohma entered- Yes, Navi sees it." The Great Deku Tree booms after Navi gasps.

I scramble over to where Navi is and recoil because there's a massive hole chewed out of the Great Deku Tree, dripping with sap and covered in goopy yellow-ish green slime. It's dark and smelly and gross inside too; I can barely make out anything five feet in, and it's covered with sticky webs. Rot clings on the edges and drips down on the ground.

My stomach is doing backflips but I try to ignore that.

"Oh, Goddesses above…" She whispers. "It's a big one, isn't it?"

The Great Deku Tree doesn't respond, so Navi turns around and looks at me straight in the eye. "Link?"

"Yeah?" I ask.

"You… You don't have to do this, you know."

What? What's that supposed to mean?

"Do you know what you're getting yourself into, Link?" She asks and there's this hidden meaning behind her words that I'm _not getting._

"Y-Yeah?" I say, but I don't really know what that even means. If I say yes, though, Navi'll let me help the Great Deku Tree, and that's all I really want to do right now.

She's this apprehensive shade of lavender, like the flower, and she says, "…Well… alright, then. Just… There's no turning back, Link. You…"

You what?

"… C'mon. Let's go."

I'll always have time to ask her later.

* * *

It's way too dark to see anything inside the Great Deku Tree so Navi has to light the way for me. She's extra bright right now so that she's kind of like a… a beacon? I think that's the word.

I'm in these long, winding tunnels carved into the Great Deku Tree; it's like a maze. They're all icky and goopy; Navi told me that it was chewed out by the Gohma. Sometimes it splits into smaller passages and at the crossroads, Navi explores each of them out before telling me which way to go.

"Hmm… Left, this time. C'mon."

I stepped in something earlier, it was kinda slimy and yucky and it's still on my boot but I'm actually really, really scared right now so I'm not really thinking of that. I pull out my sword and shield and hold then close to me.

"This way next."

I trudge along after her in silence and it's so tense and nerve wracking and I wanna say something to her really bad and stuff but what if she just ignores me?

"N…Navi-,"

"To the right."

I bite my lower lip and keep following her.

She leaves to scout out the next room so I'm left all alone in this dark tunnel behind her and I'm really scared-

I hear something to my right so I whip around and point the sword at it.

Nothing's there.

My hands are shaking and I'm _certain_ that I heard something, it sounded like something being chewed on, every breath is too loud and _I know it was there-_

 _Skritch. Skritch._

It comes from behind me so I whirl around and hold up my shield, knees trembling and eyes wide.

 _Skritch._

Something's here. I know it.

It's too dark to see _anything_ without Navi, it's just pitch black darkness, I need her, please come back-

Something brushes up against my leg and I _shriek_ and slash down with my sword before jumping back and smacking into something.

"H-Huh?" It's sticky and webby and _oh, no, this is a massive spider web, isn't it._

 _Skritch._

 _Skritch._

I scream and rip my arm off the web, swinging the sword wildly at this _thing_ that I can't see. I need Navi here, I need to be safe, I need to _leave-_

Something glowing and orange catches my eye and I turn to the side and see this shining, blood shot _eye_ staring at me, it's almost as big as my whole head. I take a few steps back, _it's still not moving,_ another few steps but then I trip over something, stumbling to the floor and _oh, Great Deku Tree, this is really bad-_

The thing hisses and the green iris planted right smack in the middle of its eye turns bright red before it _pounces_ and in a last ditch effort, I squeeze my eyes shut and hold the sword out in front of me to stop it.

I hear a sickening _squelch_ and this disgusting _squealing_ noise and there's this horrible dead weight on my sword now, hanging from the tip of it.

I don't want to look, _don't make me look-_

I peek open an eye and _my sword's right through the center of its eye, pus is leaking out of the edges around my sword and mucous is splattered everywhere, blood is running down its face-_

It squeaks and gurgles.

I feel vomit rising in my throat so I throw my sword to the side and turn away, opening my mouth and retching.

 _No way, no way, calm down, calm down. It's okay. Just turn around and it won't be there-_

I turn back around immediately regret my decision because I just end up turning back around and throwing up some more, I'm crying now, this is _horrible,_ I should've taken Navi's offer to go home-

"Link? You still- Oh, _Golden Goddesses of Hyrule,_ you killed a baby Gohma." Navi's back now and it's at the worst timing _ever_ because I just killed a _baby._ A new surge of sick rises up and I heave again, hacking up bile.

She flies over to me. "Link, Link, look at me. Calm down."

"I just… I just…" I can't find the words to describe what I just did even though I know exactly what I did.

She flies over to me and sits down on my shoulder as I sob and throw up.

* * *

 **A/N:** so . that was a ncie chapter **REVIEW** yall hope u liked it !


	8. Chapter 8

**disclaimer:** same warnings as the last chap, i dont own zelda, a little shorter than usual bc im plannin on posting another chap later today! also a little anxiety attack tw i guess bc link has some trouble in this chap so aaaa cya in the a/n

* * *

I wipe my mouth once I'm done and step away shakily. Navi flutters off my shoulder and in front of me.

"Link?"

I swallow. "Y-Yeah?"

"You're going to have to do that a lot from here on. You know that, right?" She says seriously.

 _I don't want to, I don't wanna, I wanna go home, I wanna go home-_

But if I go home, the Great Deku Tree will die and then it'll be my fault and then everybody will hate me for leaving the Great Deku Tree when he needed me.

I can't trust myself to speak right now, so I just nod hesitantly. I _hate this, I HATE THIS, I WANNA GO HOME-_

Navi sighs. "…Alright. I checked that hallway and it's a dead end, so we're gonna have to go the other way, okay?"

I nod absently, not really paying attention to Navi but to the fact that there's still blood and slime on my sword and I can't get it off.

"C'mon, then. Haven't scouted this room out, so be careful."

I follow her into the next room with my sword still out, scanning the room blankly. I can't really focus on anything right now other than that there's still blood trickling down my leg from where the baby Gohma splattered but I somehow manage to spot a round sphere in the center of the room; white with red markings on it.

"What's that, Navi?" I whisper.

"…It's an egg."

"For?"

"For baby Gohmas. They hatch prematurely if they sense danger, so stay away and you should be okay… Wait, never mind. This room is too small for you to stay away."

"Which means I'm gonna have to…"

"I… Yes. You do."

I bite my lower lip and shut my eyes tight.

 _I don't wanna do this, I don't wanna do this-_

After a moment of silence, I take two long and quick strides over to it and stab my sword right through the center, cracking the shell and- _oh, there's something solid and resistant, bile rising up my throat-_

Whatever I'm stabbing makes a _squishing_ sound that makes me squeeze my eyes shut tight to keep tears from leaking out.

I try not to throw up again.

* * *

"The next room's clear, Link. You can go through."

It's kinda monotonous now; the dull repetition of _the next room has enemies, go in, stab things, the next room's clear._ We're going down by the feel of it, which Navi says makes sense because the bottom of a tree gets the most water. That's what the Gohma wants, she says.

I want water too. I'm parched.

A baby Gohma in the last room somehow managed to land a scratch on the back of my calf; it stings and burns and makes me limp. Navi said there was a small possibility that it's poisonous, but otherwise she said I should be fine.

We're headed downwards, just following this chewed out trail that the Gohma thingy left behind. The bigger rooms are apparently nests where Gohma laid her egg clusters.

I don't know how to feel like at this point. Navi says that I have to kill these things because they're hurting the Great Deku Tree, but the babies haven't even done anything. What if they could be better? What if they could learn to not hurt things? They haven't even done anything yet and I'm just _killing_ them because of something they _could_ do.

The egg clusters are getting larger and larger and sometimes, they've hatched before I even enter the room. They come out based on "proximity to the mother," which Navi told me means "closer to the mom." The mom is the big bad thing apparently, so the closer we are, the better.

I think I'm scared of moms.

"The next room… They're all hatched already, Link. You're gonna have to be really careful." Navi says, fluttering over to my shoulder and sitting down for a bit. "Do you want me to do a fly around?"

"Sure." I whisper.

She nods and jumps off my shoulder, zipping into the room and flying around while I crouch by the entrance into the next chamber. I can hear crunching and clacking and munching and I'm _really scared._

If they're already all hatched, that means I'm really close to the Gohma, right?

I don't like this at all.

I wanna go home.

She flies by one and my breath hitches because all I can focus on is luminous green eyes and the iris, _oh, goddesses, the iris that was leaking blood and pus not even an hour ago._

I can't bear to look at the room anymore so I duck behind the wall and catch my breath.

There's no way I can do this.

I can't.

Navi eventually comes back and hovers by me. "You alright?"

"Y-Yeah. How many are in there?"

"Uh… About twenty or so, I'd say."

 _Twenty. Twenty of those… things._

 _"_ Link, you ready? C'mon, we gotta hurry up."

"Yeah." My mouth says.

Nononono, I'm not ready, I can't do this, I'll _die, no-_

My grip on the sword tightens and I shake my shield a bit to make sure it's still attached firmly on my arm. Yup. It is.

I step into the room silently, keeping my breaths quick and shallow, making sure not to make clunky noises with my boots. What's the best way to go about this? There has to be a better way than just going in and stabbing all of them.

Navi zips up by my ear. "They don't react to sound as well as they do heat signatures. If you have a long range weapon, they should be okay to deal with, actually."

What's a heat signature, I want to ask. Do you wanna go home, Navi? We can play and laugh and have fun and not be in this horrible, _horrible_ place. Don't you want to laugh, Navi?

"Link? We need a long range weapon. Do you have one?"

Please laugh. Please. I don't like the butterflies in my stomach that make me want to puke.

"I do." I say instead.

I clumsily grab my slingshot from Storage, quickly sheathing my sword and shield on my back. How many pellets do I have, anyways?

I check my pouch for extra nuts and I'm lucky this time. I have at least ten in there, and I have an additional thirty hiding in Storage.

A seed is loaded into the slingshot and I take careful aim, aligning it with… darkness. I can't see into the room. That's a problem.

"Navi?" I ask, lowering the slingshot, "I can't…"

She perks up. "Oh. Yeah, you can't see in the dark, can you? Okay, hm… How about I spot them for you, then?"

"Spot?"

She seems excited to be able to explain something again. "Yeah. Spot. It's a fairy term, I would say. It basically means to just… lock on to a target? Yeah, that wording works. I'll just hover by the enemy so that you can aim easier."

Spotting.

That's nice.

I nod. "Yes, please, Navi."

She flies off into the room and flutters by one of the baby Gohmas, her iridescent blue lighting up the horrifying color of green lined with red, blood red-

I aim again, cautiously lining it up with the iris.

The seed takes flight, barreling through the air and hitting the baby Gohma right where Navi used to be; she floated away before it could hit her.

It squeals and curls up in itself but I duck behind the wall before I can do anything else, holding my breath and pursing my lips. I hear skittering; the other baby Gohmas probably went to go check up on their dead sibling, I feel _sick-_

I force myself to look back out and shoot another seed where Navi is, hitting the next large eye with precision that I don't want to have; _this one makes painful noises and I can hear a wet squelching sound, stop-_

I load the next bullet and let it rip, just barely managing to curl into myself and cover my ears before it smashes into the target. I squeeze my eyes shut and bite my lower lip.

I quit. I quit. _I quit I quit I quit I quit-_

I grab another seed out of my pocket and fire.

* * *

"Navi, are we… are we there yet?" My throat feels dry and I have blood splattered all over my face and I feel grimy and _sick and disgusting and horrible-_

She flutters on top of my head and sits down. "Close. We'll be there soon."

I swallow, nodding quietly.

I can do this. Come on. It's gonna be okay. C'mon.

I stop as Navi flies ahead, fiddling with the hem of my tunic with one hand while keeping a tight grip on my sword with my left.

It's gonna be fine.

"Oh, boy. Oh, boy, oh, boy-," I hear Navi off in the distance before she _zooms_ over, a bright, panicky violet. "This is bad, this is-,"

I feel my heart lurch up into my throat and I barely manage to choke out a "what?" in response.

"There's- The entrance- Gohma's- The entrance-," Navi stammers, stumbling over her words. "Over there, the entrance to the Gohma's nest, it's over there."

She says it and it goes through my ears but I can't really process it. One part of me is saying _yay, it's almost over,_ but the other part is screaming and sobbing _NO, NO, DON'T MAKE ME GO._

"Are you sure?" I ask, and I'm not even sure if I actually said it or if I actually heard what Navi said.

I didn't say anything apparently, because Navi flies around in various circles over my head while muttering to herself instead of answering.

"I-I didn't sign up for this." She whispers. "All _I_ was supposed to do was grab the damn kid- what am I _doing-_ This is a _Gohma- I'm gonna-,"_

I bite my lip and pretend not to hear her.

At that point, I start to realize that this is it. This is the end.

Gohma is right through that tunnel.

The realization hits at full force and I feel sick to my stomach. There's nothing left for me to throw up, I can tell because my stomach hasn't stopped growling and moaning for food for the past few hours, but that doesn't stop it from making me spit out bitter, filmy bile.

I lean over and wretch a few times, nausea and dizziness overtaking me for a minute. I slap both hands onto the wall and latch onto the bark to keep from falling over.

My heart is beating and I can _hear_ it through the blood rushing in my ears, it's beating too fast and too desperately and I need to calm- calm down-

My vision's tunneling in- am I breathing? Am I dying? Maybe this is a dream after all-

Something slams into my back and I snap back into reality.

Take deep breaths. Count to seven. Count backwards.

Each breath I take is shaky and hitching, but I eventually manage to calm myself down. My eyesight goes back to normal and I can focus a bit better.

"Link?"

Oh, there's Navi. She must've been the thing that hit me.

I take another breath and straighten up before answering. "Yeah, Navi?"

She flies in front of me, making sure to dim her shine by just a little bit to keep from hurting my eyes.

"Are you okay?"

That can't be a legitimate question. There's no way that she's actually asking that- of _course_ I'm not okay, what am I _doing-_

I feel my breathing quicken again but I hold myself back. Calm down, Link. Focus on Navi. Look at her.

She's a deep, rich purple- she must be really scared- to the point where the roots of her wings are a hue of lavender. She's putting out a lot of fairy dust too; Saria told me that happens when fairies are nervous. Her long, pointed ears are drooping.

Ok.

I take another deep breath for my own comfort.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

* * *

 **a/n:** so ! i hope u liked that my dudes **review okay** and also im goin to costa rica for like ten days so! imma have fun again **RE VI E W**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** SORRY FOR THE HELLA LONG ABSCENCE SCHOOL STARTED BACK UP AND I COULDNT GET ANYTHING DOne but here you go guys here's the next chap thanks for waiting

* * *

I'm not fine.

Honestly? I still can't believe that this isn't a dream. No matter what the Great Deku Tree and Navi both said, there is no way that this could possibly be real. It's just too ridiculous.

My sword's currently plunged inside the goopy remains of a baby Gohma, the last one in this room, still squeaking and gurgling and twitching, and I'm unable to do anything but stare as it as its life drains out of its body. Its foot does a final, jerky kick before it stops, silent and dead. I pull my sword out and try to ignore the noise it makes or the fluid that comes off of the blade.

It really hurts to look at a baby Gohma before I kill it. Their eyes are an eerie, glowing green, but when you look closer, it's actually a soft, pastel mint. Same with the plume on its head, pulsating with cool green light. Their shells are shiny and multicolored, mixes of reds and greens and browns.

But when they die, their plumes dim to a dirty, rotten brown, and their carapace loses all greens and browns, returning to a bloody, rusty shade of red. Its single, huge eye rolls inside its head and dims until nothing is visible but small, thread-like veins still filled with warm blood.

It hurts to look at it.

But I do.

I feel like it's my job to be the last thing they see before they die. So that they know who killed them and they can get their revenge on me in whatever afterlife they go to. I deserve that much, at least.

I gently push the dead monster to the side with the flat of my blade, taking care not to step on it, and keep heading towards Gohma's lair.

* * *

It's a little farther than I thought it'd be; the way Navi put it, I was afraid that I would walk in and then, _bam,_ Gohma, but I guess not 'cause I've been walking for about five minutes already.

I'm a little put off by the lack of baby Gohmas, though. Every time I turn a corner, I'm afraid that sixteen baby Gohmas are gonna jump out and attack me. It hasn't happened so far. It's just a long, dark corridor, goopy and messy and chewed out.

"Hey, Navi?" I ask, licking my lips. They're chapped and dry and I absently bite the dead skin off of them as I continue, "Why are the baby Gohmas all gone? Didn't you say there would be more the closer we got to the mom?"

"No, I said they hatch faster the closer they are." She clarifies, turning to face me. "I'm not certain, but I'm fairly sure that Gohmas don't lay their eggs around their primary nest."

I cock my head to the side. "Why?"

"She'd eat her own eggs if they were too close."

My gut sinks and a bead of sweat rolls down my forehead. "O-Oh."

I kinda wanna ask her why the mom would eat her own eggs, but I'm pretty sure that I don't wanna know the answer.

I wonder what it's like to be so small, so young and inexperienced, to look at the thing that you're depending on to keep you alive, and then to have it leave you. To watch someone you think cares about you walk away. I wonder how those baby Gohmas felt as their mom came up to them before killing them like they didn't even matter to her.

 _I thought you loved me._

 _What did I do wrong?_

 _I'm sorry._

Something trickles down my chin and I realize that my lower lip is bleeding. I must've bit it too hard.

I wipe it off with the back of my hand.

* * *

We finally make our way out of the goopy, cramped hallway and into a large, circular clearing. The floor is covered in a thin, white mist that that Navi's blue shine reflects off of, and it's kind of eerily pretty. I stretch my arms above my head before swinging them back down.

Nothing's here.

 _I'm so relieved._

I let out the breath that I'd been holding.

Navi hasn't said anything since I asked her that question a while ago and I'm a little worried.

"There's nothing here, huh?" I say, laughing nervously. "Don't you almost wish the Gohma would show up already?"

I keep chuckling while I wait for her to respond.

She doesn't.

"Navi?" I ask, turning to look at her. I watch her for a few silent moments as her blue fades to a murky purple and then heats up into a dark, boiling red.

Oh, no.

"N-Navi-,"

"Can you shut up for _one second!?"_ Navi growls, and I'm a little surprised that a fairy can even make that kind of sound, "You should be _glad_ you don't have to fight it yet! This isn't a game, Link!" She sounds really, really upset and I feel a little scared.

"This is why I _hate_ dealing with you Kokiri! Thinking _every little thing_ is a game just because you think you're immortal!" She screams, throwing her arms around angrily.

I blink. "W-Wait, Navi, I'm-,"

"No, you know what?" She flies into my face and I flinch back, "I'm _sick_ of this."

 _Wait, wait, no-_

"I didn't actually _want_ to put up with you, did you know that?"

 _Please, stop, I didn't mean it-_

"All I was _supposed_ to do was bring you to the Great Deku Tree. I'm not even supposed to be here!"

I didn't mean it-

"I'm done! My job's over! I brought you to the Great Deku Tree! Who cares about helping you beat the Gohma!? _Not me!"_

My mouth hangs open and I take a step back, _this isn't what I wanted-_

"I'm leaving! You can have fun killing all the baby Gohmas you want if you're so impatient to _die."_ Navi spits, voice is shrill and raking at my ears painfully. "Have fun, _Seven."_

I feel my eyes sting and guilt sinks in like a punch to the gut, and I have to process the sight of her zipping back to the corridor we came from for a few moments before I chase after her, screaming, " _WAIT, WAIT, I'M SORRY-,"_

 _THUD-_

Something falls down from the ceiling and obscures what I can see of Navi's small, pinpoint red glow, throwing me into pitch black darkness. I smack into something before I can stop. "Ouch!"

"NAVI!" I shout, trying to stand back up. "WAIT! I DIDN'T MEAN IT! IT WAS A BAD JOKE, I'M SORRY-,"

Something clicks in my head.

Wait.

What did I run into?

I reach out with my hands and brush something rough and hard. My fingers press into dusty grooves and I realize it's a rock. One big enough to cover the only exit out of this room.

"Navi?" I whisper, pressing my ear against the boulder. "Are you there?"

She doesn't respond.

 _It's so dark._

I feel my breath hitch and warm tears spill out of my eyes.

 _I'm scared._

"N-Navi!?" I yell, voice cracking. "Navi, I'm sorry! Come back!"

She doesn't.

I realize this is the exact situation I was just thinking about, the one where the baby Gohma gets eaten by its mom, _I'm the baby Gohma and Navi's my mom-_

"NAVI-,"

 _Skritch._

My voice stops dead in my throat.

 _Skritch._

 _It's coming from behind me._

 _Something's behind me, something's behind me-_

I unsheathe my sword and thrust my shield in front of me as I whip around, trying to find the source of the sound.

My breaths are too shaky and too loud and I feel like this is the first baby Gohma I killed again, my head is spinning and I feel like I'm going to collapse at any moment.

 _Skritch._

My ears swivel around as they try to find where the noise is coming from.

 _Skritch. Skritch._

It's from this direction, that's for sure… But where?

 _Skritch._

 _It's above you._

I look up and a single glowing orange eye blinks at me.

* * *

 **A/N:** now i gotta do like six different projects so have fun waiting for another month **thanks guys please review also happy halloween**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** tw for gore and blood and lotsa nasty shit

* * *

My legs buckle underneath me and I fall on the floor, staring up with wide, terrified eyes.

The Gohma's eye rolls around in its socket to look at me, and then it shifts position slightly before jumping off the ceiling to the floor. It lands on the floor with a loud _crash,_ and the ground shakes beneath me.

The room is dark and all I can see is that huge _eye, I'm gonna-_

It lashes out with a huge claw, catching me by the leg and throwing me to the other side of the room before I can register anything. I hit the wall with a _crack, my sword is blown out of my hands,_ and all the air is knocked out of my lungs as I hit the floor hard, coughing and trying my best to regain my breath.

Tears form in my eyes and spill over and it _hurts so bad, my back and my leg-_ I take a look at my foot and immediately turn to the side and vomit. The skin and meat is torn away, revealing sharp white bone slicked with blood and remaining strips of muscle.

 _"NAVI!"_ I scream, trying desperately to stand back up but failing. My leg is burning, _it hurts- "NAVI!"_

The Gohma is slowly making its way over to me, flanked by two or three of its children. Its eye is narrowed and the pupil is red. My breathing quickens and shallows and its _staring at me, it's gonna kill me, I'm gonna die-_

It tilts its head to the side and clicks its mandibles together, watching me with its huge, glowing eye.

I turn and glare at it, trying to make myself at least a little bit threatening, but the pain in my leg makes me regret it immediately. "S-Stay away!" It probably won't understand me but I can at least try, right?

I reach out into Storage and pull out my slingshot. I load up a seed and shout, "D-Don't come any closer! I-I'll shoot!" _Please, please, please stay away-_

It takes another step towards me before its eye changes color and it lunges, mandibles wide and ready to _hurt me, please stay away-_

 _It didn't work, it didn't-_ I squeeze my eyes shut and let a seed fly.

It lands smack in the middle of its eye with a goopy _squelch_ sound and an angry squeal as it recoils, waving its pincers wildly. I back up and crawl away desperately as the baby Gohmas chase after me, kicking them off with my only good leg.

I'm not fast enough, though, because Gohma recovers and I can _hear her stomping over here-_

A claw smashes across my torso, pinning me down, and I choke on my own scream, _IT HURTS,_ as blood pools in my mouth. I hear something _crack_ and breathing gets painful, _I'm broken, I can't breathe-_ I spit out the blood in my mouth and writhe underneath her, smashing my fists on the shell of her claw. I pick up my slingshot from where it fell out of my hand and take aim again, shooting it into Gohma's eye at point blank. She screams and I take the opportunity to jab the pronged end of my slingshot into her eye.

Pus and clear, sticky liquid splashes onto my face as she recoils, making harsh, screeching noises, _no, nonono, I don't like this, I'm sorry_. My slingshot gets pulled out of my hand, _still in her eye, I'm sorry,_ and I can hear mucus splattering on the floor, _oh god, I did this,_ as she screeches. I wrap my arms around my chest and hop away quickly, sobbing. I crash against the wall and use it as a support to get myself more stable.

Gohma writhes and screams from the center of the room, her babies swarming around her and I want to scream, _I need Navi, please, please, I don't want to die_ -

Her glowing eye momentarily lights up the gleaming, silver blade of the Kokiri Sword and I seize my opportunity. I limp over to it, ignoring how I can feel my damaged leg, _it hurts, it HURTS,_ dragging along behind me and my ribs cracking and expanding with every breath.

Leaning down to pick it up ends up being a much harder task than I thought it would be. I collapse on the floor from the pain in my chest and legs, twisting. I look up quickly to see what Gohma is doing and- I'm safe, at least for now, because she's still trying to get my slingshot out of her eye. I reach over to my sword with shaking, grasping fingers, and pic-

Mandibles clench around my torso and _squeeze,_ I look into Gohma's huge singular eye, glowing red and green, and I feel the jagged, sharp edges cut into my sides like teeth, _It hurts, let me go, it hurts, please-_ I scramble for the sword, just managing to pick it up, and with a scream, stab it into the middle of her pupil. I twist my sword in her eye _hard,_ ignoring the screams of the baby Gohmas behind her.

Bloody pus and mucus spews out, coating my sword and my arm. She _roars_ and her jaw opens and I'm free, _I'm free,_ but then she stumbles away, screeching and shrieking, before falling dead on the floor, fluid still leaking out of her blank eyes.

Her children crawl around her, chirping desperately, and I watch them, dazed, from my curled up position on the floor, bleeding and trying to just _keep breathing._ They place small, sad claws on Gohma's, pull the sword out of her eye, nudge her with their soft green plumes, curl up in the groove of her soft underbelly. They wail and cry into the darkness of the cavern, eyes glowing and slicked with tears, vibrant colors turned dull.

It almost seems like they're mourning.

Of course they are.

Their mother is dead.

And I'm the one who killed her.

I'm the bad guy.

* * *

 **A/N:** its been a while but hey im back and im back in the groove so hopefully ill be able to update more frequently hope yall liked it **REVIEW _PLEASE_**


	11. Chapter 11

**disclaimer:** ooohoh boy guess who back its me not much of a tw this time? a little more death but other than that i dont own zelda

* * *

I'm curled up, still shivering due to something other than the cold, when the baby Gohmas start withering away. They shrivel, turn brown, and collapse into a pile of wrinkled, screeching carcasses. I can barely process anything that's happening and my sword sits limply in my hand.

It's a strange feeling, to die. I didn't think I'd get to experience what it felt like until much later. Maybe some part of me thought that I wouldn't.

Something's leaking out of my eyes and my mouth, and I register vaguely that I taste iron.

 _I don't want to die._

 _I don't want to die yet._

 _I'm scared and I don't want to die yet._

I want to say sorry to Navi. I want to say sorry to Saria. I want to tell Mido that I'm sorry and that I do actually love him, tell the Know-it-all Brothers that I'm sorry I stole their shiny rocks without their permission. I want to tell Fado that I've always wanted to hang out with her and play with each other's' hair, I want to tell Yerbal that I really appreciate everything he does, I want-

I realize that I'm not breathing.

Something's pulsing in my chest and I wonder if it's my heart.

It's not.

Blue erupts from my core, the light carving a circle around me. Runes tie themselves together underneath me and before I know it, a teleportation circle is activated around me and my vision fades to afterimages of clouds and streaks of gold, iridescent rings and soft voices.

 _Wake up, sleepyhead._

* * *

When I wake up, all I hear are the birds singing. Grass presses into my cheek and it smells good, so _good,_ wind blows through my hair and it's all I can do to keep from wailing.

 _I'm out. I'm outside._

I breathe in deeply, several times, just to fill myself with the fragrance of nature; the earthy smell of dirt and the subtle sweetness in the air. I'm still crying.

I open my eyes.

Blades of grass drift quietly in front of me, and I can see-

It's the Great Deku Tree. His roots are spread out around me, and I'm _safe. I'm going to be okay. Everything's over._

I push myself up with aching arms into an upright position. My head spins but all I care is that there's a flower in front of me, a bluebell-

 _Navi._

I try to stand up but I crash to the ground without grace, skinning my knees on the ground.

It hurts.

I blink, once, twice, sprawled out uncomfortably on the grass in the Great Deku Tree's clearing. I slowly turn around to look at my legs-

My knees are red and raw but that's it- the skin is stretched over my leg like it had never been torn off in the first place, with nothing left but an outline of where the injury once was.

Injury- The Deku Tree! Is he okay?

I stand up, ignoring how weak my legs feel and how my knees sting, turning and looking at the Great Deku Tree.

The wind whistles through his leaves, and his branches creak and groan.

 _Is he alive?_

"Ah. Good morning, young Seven." I almost burst into tears again from the calm rumble of the Deku Tree's voice, cracking and pitching at all the right places.

"Great Deku Tree!" I shout, and I run over and press myself against his bark. It's rough and drags against my skin, but it feels so nice. He's alive. He's alive and I'm alive, and _everything is going to be alright._

He laughs, and it's a deep throaty sound that I can feel through my feet.

"I did it, Great Deku Tree." I whisper against him. "I beat Gohma. I did it."

"Thank you so much, my child."

 _I did it._

The Great Deku Tree lets me sob against him for a while, and once I'm done, he starts speaking again.

"You traveled deep into Gohma's lair and faced her, even when you were scared. For that, dear Link, I cannot thank you enough." The Great Deku Tree praises and my cheeks flush.

"I cannot emphasize just how thankful I am, Seven. I wish that I had a way to thank you aside from healing your wounds, but as I am a spirit of nature, there is not much else I can do."

"I-It's- I'm-," I stumble over my words, "I'm honored that you would- that you'd even want to do something for me, Great Deku Tree."

He chuckles, the sound warm and deep, "It is my honor, courageous little one. I cannot express how deep my gratitude runs. You've saved my children."

I blink. His children? The Kokiri?

"What about y-,"

He cuts me off. "Well done, Link." I smile and scratch the back of my head.

"I-I didn't do much. It was- It was mostly…" It clicks. "Navi." I look up, and I can still feel Navi's screaming raking through my ears. "Where's Navi!? Is she okay!? Is she…" I bite my lip. "Is she still mad?"

The Great Deku Tree looks at me with his warm brown eyes, sighing before responding. "Navi… Navi is fine. In fact, I think she has something she wants to say to you."

A small blue light hesitantly flutters out from behind the Great Deku Tree, each flap of her wings leaving trails of fairy dust behind her.

It's her.

 _I didn't actually want to put up with you._

She's getting closer, and I can see her turquoise turn darker, sinking almost into navy blue.

 _Have fun, Seven._

"L-Link?" She says, and just hearing her voice makes me want to-

She launches herself into my cheek, latching on as best she can with her small arms and sobbing. "I'm- I'm so-, I'm so _so sorry, Link, I'm so sorry-,"_

Some part of me is still angry, still hurt, telling me to refuse her, to push her away- She hurt me and that's something she'll never be able to take back.

 _"I'm so sorry. I'm- I'm-,"_

It's slowly, but I lift my arms, cup her in my hands, and cradle her against my face while she cries and I tell her that I forgive her.

* * *

 **a/n:** yall i know ive been dead but. its finals week school and i stlil pulled through i literally have no excuse for why i havent written in so long other than having zero motivation but its almost summer! so hopefully well be back to regular-ish updates

thanks to everyone who's followed and reviewed and favorited so far!

 **pls review and also i love all of u mwah**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** howdy its me i got Two (2) chapters today isnt that great

* * *

"My children." The Great Deku Tree interrupts us, Navi still clinging to the skin on my cheek as I smile softly and press my face into her small hands. "I am afraid that the challenges you are the face are not yet over."

"What do you mean?" Navi asks, taking one hand off my face. I miss it. "What else would you have us do?"

"I… I have yet more to tell the two of you. But please, _please_ know this," His eyes look even more sad than usual, "You will never be able to take back this knowledge. Please consider this when you answer."

"Will you listen to the rest of my tale?"

And I say yes.

The Great Deku Tree looks at me with his somber eyes, shadowed by what I think is grief, and he continues. "Then… Listen carefully, young ones."

"A wicked man of the desert cast this dreadful curse upon me. This evil man ceaselessly uses his vile, sorcerous powers in his search for the Sacred Realm that is connected to Hyrule," he explains, "For it is in that Sacred Realm that one will find the divine relic, the Triforce, which contains the essence of the gods."

I take a seat at that point, drawing my legs close to me and hugging them even closer. "Yeah?"

The Great Deku Tree chuckles. "I will tell you a story of the world's creation."

"Before time began, before spirits and life existed…" he rumbles in his deep voice, dramatic and nostalgic, "Three golden goddesses descended upon the chaos that was Hyrule." He's told this story before. All the Kokiri know it word for word. Normally, we would recite alongside him, but I want to listen to him.

I want to listen to the Great Deku Tree's soft, gentle tremors in the ground as he tells his stories. I want to be able to ask him for advice on how to deal with Mido, and I want him to-

"Din, the goddess of power, Nayru, the goddess of wisdom… and Farore, the goddess of courage."

"Din, with her strong flaming arms, cultivated the land and created the red earth. Nayru poured her wisdom onto the earth and gave the spirit of law to the world. And Farore, with her rich soul, produced all life-forms who would uphold the law."

"The three great goddesses, their labors completed, departed for the heavens. And golden sacred triangles remained at the point where the goddesses left the world." The wind blows and Navi flutters up to settle on top of my head, gripping the hem of my hat.

"Since then, the sacred triangles have become the basis of our world's providence, and the resting place of the triangles has become the Sacred Realm."

"You must never allow the desert man in black armor to lay his hands on the sacred Triforce. You must never suffer that man, with his evil heart, to enter the Sacred Realm of legend."

 _Flaming hair-_

 _Lightning strikes-_

 _Water beneath your feet, thrown back-_

 _The end of the world-_

"That evil man who cast the death curse upon me and sapped my power."

My heart is crushed inside my chest, and I feel like I'm being squeezed by the Gohma again, sharp and painful and constricting. The Great Deku Tree laughs gently. "My end is nigh, young Seven. Though your valiant efforts to break the curse were successful, I was doomed before you started. I hoped…" He curls his lips in a trembling, warm smile. "I had hoped that I could at least keep all of my children safe."

My breathing jerks to a stop for a moment and I stand up slowly and take off my hat, hands fisted into the fabric. Tears pool in my eyes and I can't believe that the Great Deku Tree, _Great Deku Tree-_

The wind blows and the Great Deku Tree creaks softly. I look up at him and all I can see is the Great Deku Tree, my hero, old and ashy and turning grayer by the second. I can't accept it. He isn't dying, _he isn't dying, he's not going to die-_

I open my mouth and manage to choke out a sound through my tears.

"Do not grieve for me, children. I have been able to tell you of these important matters."

"You are Hyrule's final hope, Link."

I swallow my tears and shout, "Great Deku Tree, I-,"

"Go now to Hyrule Castle, my child," The Great Deku Tree interrupts, the grand, commanding voice I never thought I'd hear again echoing throughout the clearing. "There, you will surely meet the Princess of Destiny."

The Princess of-

"Take this stone, my child, the stone that man wanted so much that he cast the curse upon me. There's a green flash of light and the Kokiri Emerald itself shines in front of me, glistening and sparkling and I'm holding the Spiritual Stone of the Forest, the Great Deku Tree _trusts me enough to-_

"The future depends on you, my courageous little one. And you, Navi, my brave, wise fairy…" Navi flutters off my head and to my side. "Help Link to carry out my will."

"I am so sorry, my children, for the fate that will be forced upon you. I hope that one day… you will forgive me…"

And the Great Deku Tree stops speaking.

The wind blows through his branches and dead leaves float down, crumbling and the color of ash. It sounds like the earth is sighing. I look up as small petals and flower buds fall. It's almost spring. There's a pink flower in my hands, small and young.

It turns to gray and crumbles in my palms.

"Great Deku Tree, _no,_ I can't- _you can't-,"_ I'm choking and Navi buries her face into my hair, I can feel small tears on my scalp and it only makes me want to cry more-, " _YOU CAN'T LEAVE US!"_

I'm screaming, running to the Great Deku Tree and rake my hands against the Deku Tree's bark, trying to feel for some sign of life that I _know he doesn't have_. It hurts but I keep wailing and sink down to my knees.

" _NO!"_ My throat is raw and painful from screaming, "He can't be dead, he, _he can't be dead, Navi, please-,"_

I lift Navi up and cradle her in my hands. "Please, please tell me I'm dreaming. Navi, _please."_ I need some way to know that this isn't real, I need this to all be a dream that I'll wake up from, I'll go play with Saria and maybe Mido'll be nice to me today, _none of today ever happened and the Great Deku Tree isn't dead and-_

"I'm sorry."

It hits me in the gut like the boulder in the forest, hard and heavy and painful.

I throw the Kokiri Emerald to the ground and scream, " _I DON'T WANT THIS!"_ I'm angry, angry at the rock and at myself, angry that _I couldn't do anything._ "W-Why-," I sniffle, wiping my eyes, "Why is this happening?"

 _The cycle will continue._

"…Lets go to Hyrule Castle, Link." Navi says after a while, alighting on my knuckles.

I wipe my tears and pick up the Kokiri Emerald, brushing off the dirt and putting it into Storage. I feel disconnected from my own body but it stands up and starts to run, full speed, away from the Great Deku Tree, back towards the village.

I stop and notice Navi is far behind me, still by the Great Deku Tree. I watch through eyes that don't feel like my own as she whispers something I can't hear to the Great Deku Tree before she zips after me.

 _I hope that one day, you will forgive me._

* * *

 **A/N:** I Love It When The Great Deku Tree Dies Its Great


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** yeehaw

* * *

Mido is standing at the entrance of the village, blocking my way. "Hey, Link! What did you-," _Please leave me alone, please, please, I don't think I can take anything more today-_

I push him out the way but he grabs my shoulder from behind and turns me around. I look down.

I don't want him to hate me even more than he already does.

"Link, w-whoa, w-wait up-,"

I can't even bring myself to fight against his grip on me.

"The Great Deku Tree," he says, and he sounds like I remember him, young and caring and scared, "Did… Did he… Did he die?"

I don't say anything.

He takes his hands off my shoulders and takes a step back, mouth open.

Sina sinks to the floor, and Navi floats over to her. She tries to comfort her but Sina slaps her away, and Navi flinches back.

It's a while before Mido says anything, but when he does, it's a whispered, shaky, "How…"

I'm ready for him to say _how did it happen, how did he die, how are we going to live from now on,_ but instead he steps up to me and grabs my collar, lifting me off the floor before screeching into my face, " _HOW COULD YOU LET A THING LIKE THAT HAPPEN!?"_

He throws me on the floor and shouts, " _IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! GET OUT OF MY HOME, OUTSIDER!"_

And my heart stops.

Mido and Sina stomp away and I'm left with nothing but a fairy that shouldn't belong to me.

I get up and sprint out of the village, ignoring everybody's curious and worried glances in my direction, and I remember that just a while ago I was taking this exact path all while cheering because I finally had a fairy and it was the best day of my life.

Navi flies after me and clings onto my hat, and she's telling me that it isn't my fault, that it's the desert man's fault, not mine-

But it is. It's my fault. If I had gotten there a little faster, I would have saved him. If I had woken up a little faster when Navi called, I would have saved him, if I hadn't eaten with Saria and Hael I would have _saved him-_

I run into the Lost Woods and I take the path that I know will lead me out, the path littered with the skeletons of Outsiders that tried to make it in but couldn't, guarded by our Stalfos and signs painted with red X's.

Erla, he likes to sit by the exit to the forest to make sure nobody leaves and I know this because we're brothers, we're siblings but _not anymore,_ sees me turn onto the path and yells, "Wait, Link, where are you going!? We Kokiri will _die_ if we leave the forest!" He grabs my wrist and pulls me back, hard. It hurts my shoulder but he looks at me and asks, voice soft, "You're not… You're not going to try to leave the forest, are you?"

For a moment, all I can think is that death is the least that I deserve.

 _You murderer. It's your fault. All your fault. You killed him._

I jerk my arm back, fighting back tears, and run off, through the tunnel and I think I see Boney out of the corner of my eyes but I ignore him and his flower in his skull and keep running.

I make it out onto the bridge, made with its rickety boards of wood, mossy and covered in lichen, before freezing at her voice.

"…You're leaving, aren't you?"

Of all people, why, why, _WHY_ did it have to be Saria?

I turn around slowly and nod, not trusting my voice.

Her eyebrows scrunch into her forehead and she looks down at her feet. "Oh…"

She looks up abruptly, a forced smile on her face. "I always knew you'd leave one day, Link, because you're different from us." And all I can think is _no, no, no, no-_

But then she adds, "You're destined to do greater things, Link," And I'm not sure if that makes me feel better or worse because at least Saria still accepts me for who I am?

"But that's okay, because we'll always be friends, right, Link? And you'll come back, right?" She's holding out the ocarina that _SHE'S TREASURED FROM SINCE BEFORE I CAN REMEMBER AND SHE'S GIVING ME HER MOST PRECIOUS POSSESSION_ and I can't, I can't-

I take it from her hands, _she has soft hands,_ grit my teeth, take one step backwards, _oh, goddesses, oh, goddesses, I'm leaving the Forest, I'm leaving Saria,_ take another step, _we'll always be friends, why is it even a question,_ and another step before burning her every detail into my mind, her tangled green hair and her soft blue eyes and everything about her all the while thinking _what if I don't make it back, I'm so sorry,_ before sprinting out of the forest as fast as I can because _I don't want to let her see me cry again, no more-_

And when I pop out of the hollow and out of the Forest, all I can do is clutch the Fairy Ocarina to my chest and cry because I've just lost everything I care about.

But then I hear Navi's small, _beautiful_ voice, " _Hey, listen!"_ and I can't stop the tears from flowing because I still have _somebody_ with me, _someone who I shouldn't have but is still here with me nonetheless-_

I stare at her with teary eyes and blubber, "N-Navi, I didn't even say _good bye_ to her, don't leave me, please, I-I don't wanna be alone, _please, please stay-,"_ And I'm so, _so horribly_ scared that she's gonna leave me too, but Navi cuts me off by snuggling into the crook of my neck.

"I'll never leave you again, Link. I promise."

I look up at her and ask, "Al-Always be with, with me?" My voice cracks and breaks and I force myself to ask her, "P-Promise?"

"Always, Link. I promise."

And she lets me hold her close to me as I try to keep hold of the last person left in my life.

* * *

 **A/N:** hi guys thats it for today yall! i just wanna give a shout out to my best buddy cobbie for editing the last two chapters for me ily cobbert also **review if yall want to ha dab**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** ha dab

* * *

Navi puts both of her hands on one of my cheeks and looks into my eyes before asking, "Are you alright now? Do you think you'll be okay?"

I smile and give her a gentle tap on the head with a finger. "I'm fine now, Navi."

"Promise?" She's a worried lilac. Guilt chews at my gut and I feel like I need to apologize to her.

I smile. "I promise, Navi. I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Ugh, Link, don't apologize for that!" She zips up, bonking herself against the side of my head. "I'm your Guardian! Of _course_ I'm going to be worried! That's my _job,_ Froggy."

I cock my head to the side, "Froggy?"

"Y-Yes, Froggy-," She's embarrassed, a soft shade of pink, "I- Remember when you were pretending to be a frog?"

"What?"

"Oh, oh my gods, this is so embarrassing-," Navi flutters around nervously, "Agh, this is why nicknames-,"

My heart soars. _"You gave me a nickname!?"_ I leap up and cradle her in my hands again, spinning around and around and squealing because _NAVI GAVE ME A NICKNAME, NAVI LOVES ME!_

"C-Calm down!" Navi yells, but she's a happy, bright yellow and she's laughing too and-

"Hoo hoot!"

We both yelp and I trip over both of my feet before landing on my butt on the ground, shouting all the way. Navi manages to fly out of my grip and zips anxiously around me as I sit back up.

The same person who made that voice, it's so _deep_ and _squawky, is it a boy owl or a girl owl or an in-between owl,_ I've never heard anything like it, hoots as Navi and I whirl around. It sounds like an owl's cooing, round and echoing.

"Link! Look up here!" Navi and I look up to the source of the voice, _how does he know my name,_ which turns out to be…

A giant bird. A giant owl, to be specific, with _huge_ eyebrows and-

I snort into my hand.

 _It looks funny._

"Shh! Link, don't laugh." Navi whispers into my ear.

I'm a little confused. "Huh? Why?"

"Owls are _dangerous,_ Link, they have sharp talons and an even sharper beak!"

I gasp. _"Really?"_ I look over at the owl and _she's right,_ his beak is sharpened to a point, chestnut brown plumage leading down to pointy, violent looking talons that could-

I swallow nervously, focusing back on the owl's half-mooned eyes and long, funny looking eyebrows and the two weird-looking dots of dark brown under his beak. Owls only eat mice and frogs and probably little Kokiri that are the perfect size for eating-

Navi bobs her head and says, "Don't make him angry, Link, just-,"

"So!" The owl interrupts loudly, turning his head up and squawking towards the sky. "It appears that the time has finally come for you to start your adventure!"

I look up at the owl-who-talks with wide eyes. "You-You know about my adventure!? H-How?"

The owl hoots before saying, "If you don't mind me, I think you just might mean…"

" _How-t."_

I'm trying my _very hardest not to laugh_ but my face is turning red and my cheeks are puffing out.

I fail, bursting out laughing because the owl doesn't only _look_ funny, it _IS_ funny-

The owl and I are both hooting, _pfft,_ with laughter, him on his perch over the exit of the woods and me on the floor, rolling in the grass.

"I can't believe this. I cannot believe that I had to hear that with my own two ears-," Navi grumbles, crawling under my hat.

"Hoo, I apologize!" The owl says when it's recovered. "I will admit; I have been wanting to use that joke for a long while."

I blink a few times, cogs whirring in my head. If it's been wanting to use that joke for a while, does that mean it's just been waiting out here? "Wai-,"

"Getting back on track though," The owl interrupts again, fluffing up his feathers, "you will encounter many hardships ahead. Unfortunately, that is your fate."

 _I've been in the forest for 137 years-_

"Oh, don't feel discouraged, Link, even during the toughest of times! Cheer up, my small friend."

I didn't even think owls could _live_ that long-

"Go straight this way and you will reach Hyrule Castle."

Is it just this owl? Can just this owl live that long? Can no other owl but him- _oh my gosh, what if it's a magic owl-_

"You will meet a princess there."

It can _talk,_ it's _huge,_ it's _gotta be a magic owl-_

"Here, my small friend. I've brought you a map."

 _Are there more magic owls like him?_ What if _all of Hyrule is magic owls-_

"Oh-, I, I guess you don't have to pick it up off the ground yet- hoo, I suppose that's about it. Did you get all that?"

Nah, there's no way that all of Hyrule is magic owls-

"No? You didn't get everything? Oh, that's fine, I can repeat-,"

Navi flies out from under my cap, breaking my train of thought. "No! No, no, uh, that- That won't be necessary!" She whispers into my ear harshly, "C'mon, say bye to the nice owl!"

I'm still distracted but I raise a hand towards the owl and say, "O-Oh, bye."

"Alright then, I'll see you around! Hoot hoot hoot ho!" Gusts of wind blow towards Navi and I from the owl's tremendous wings as it flaps once, twice, before soaring away in the direction of a _huge_ building that I hadn't even _seen_ before that.

Navi sighs, resting a hand on my head. "You need to be better at listening to people when they're talking, Link. And not thinking aloud. We- Well, more like I would have had to listen to his spiel all over again."

And I ask the question I've been wondering this whole time. "Has Mr. Owl just been sitting out here this whole time waiting for me?"

"…You need to be better at listening to people when they're talking."

"Oh. Okay."

* * *

 **A/N:** howdy . its me . hope u like it **review owo**


	15. Chapter 15

**disclaimer:** yes haw

* * *

I hadn't noticed it while Mr. Owl (Mister? Missus? Neither?) was talking, but there's something _huge_ and _bright_ and _gigantic_ in the sky that hurts my eyes when I stare at it for too long. I've figured out that the ball in the sky is what's making everything bright, what makes the grass so _green,_ it's so beautiful and I've never seen something so vivid but bright; the forest was naturally dim but vibrant in dark hues of jade and chocolate.

 _I wanna lie in the grass._

"Navi, come on!" I say, running out and into the field and sprawling out in the grass, rolling around. It smells sweet and fresh in ways that I haven't smelled before, something open and airy. Navi flutters over to me and alights on my open palm.

The sky is _blue,_ not the hazy yellow that I'm used to but soft in its own way, with fluffy puffs of white that float along lazily, with no care.

"What are those?" I ask, pointing with my free hand at the white fluffs. "They look nice."

"Those are clouds." Navi says.

The wind blows over us and I force down memories of Saria and I playing in windy forests, curling up together on stormy days.

"What are they made of?" I ask, shaking myself out of my thoughts.

Navi hums quietly before answering. "It's condensation-,"

"What's that?"

"It's… water? In the sky? Like, mist, but in a clump."

I think hard for a second. "Can you drink it?"

"…No."

"What's the big shiny thing, then?" I say, pointing at the big glowing white ball in the sky. I squint. It still hurts my eyes when I look at it.

"… That's the sun."

"The sun?" I ask, scrunching my brows together. "What's it do?"

"It keeps us warm," Navi explains, "and it provides light. It helps plants grow through photosynthesis, and-,"

"Ph-Photos-in-thesis?"

"…Okay, let's start from there. But first, get up. We gotta head towards the castle."

I stare at her for a second while getting up. "What's a castle?"

I push myself up off the ground and walk towards a dirt path as Navi explains what a castle is. Apparently, it's a really big house that royalty like princesses and princes live in. I don't know what either of those are.

Navi explains that to me too. They're the kids of really important people.

…If I'm the kid of the Great Deku Tree, does that mean I'm a princess? I decide ask her.

She says yes and I scream really loud because _wow, I'm a princess_ but I still don't know what it means to be one, so the excitement dies down in a few minutes.

* * *

The sky, _have I mentioned it's blue, isn't that cool,_ has exploded in color, streaks of orange and red, casting gold shadows on the clouds and _oh,_ I've never seen anything like it before and I'm just- _amazed._

The sun is trying to sink below the hills, and I'm a little worried because I'm pretty sure Navi told me that the sun is what keeps us all alive. What happens if it goes away?

I wave a hand towards Navi as I stop in place. "Where's the sun going?"

"Not now, Link, we need to move faster." Her tone of voice is clippy and almost scary and I turn around to see her anxious shade of lilac.

"Wh-What?" I ask, setting off in a jog after Navi. She's looking around nervously for any sign of a castle before vaguely zipping in a certain direction.

"We need to get to the castle before sundown." She calls back, and I sprint to catch up to her.

Ahh, so it's called sundown. Makes sense.

My breathing's starting to get heavy but I manage to ask, "W-Wait, is that because the sundown will hurt us? D-Doesn't the sun keep us alive?"

"I-I'll explain later, Link, just-," She sighs. "Let's just keep going for now. I'll tell you later."

As I'm running, I notice that the sky's gotten a lot darker; hues of purple paint the sky rather than the orange before but it's still very pretty. Small white dots of light sprinkle it, and I'm curious as to what the other large white ball that's coming out from behind the mountains is, but I decide against asking Navi. She seems wound up enough already.

I chase after her but realize that I can't really see the ground all that well. It's getting really dark and the dirt beneath my feet is getting harder and harder to maneuver on.

"Navi?" I call. "N-Navi, I can't- I can't really see all that well-,"

I stumble and try to regain my footing but I trip and skid on the dirt, scraping my elbows and skinning my knees. Navi whirls back to buzz around me, asking if I'm ok and if anything's hurt.

I sit up and feel my palms and knees sting badly and I kind of want to cry but I look up at Navi and shake my head. "I'm fine!" I say, ignoring the pinpricks of heat and pain I feel on my chin.

"Okay, then get up, get up, we have to get going!" She says quickly, spinning around me. "The sun's setting and I don't want you- I don't want you out at night. It's dangerous."

It never gets this dark in the Forest. It's always somewhat dim, but bright enough that we can still see the paths under us and the pictures on signs.

But the sky is prettier out here.

I'm about to get up but I hear something shift in the dirt behind me. Anxiety spikes through my body and I scramble away, reaching for the sword on my back.

There's a _crack_ and a _crunch_ sound and something shaped like a hand curls onto the dirt, fingers digging into the ground as the other arm bursts out. It pulls itself out and I can see the soulful eyes of-

I don't know what that is.

"It's a Stalchild, Link! We have to get out of here!" Navi yells, grabbing my ear.

I manage to get away right before the Stalchild lands a blow; its clawed hand, raw, rotten meat hanging off of bone missing me by inches. It clatters its teeth and cocks its head to look at me before ensuing chase.

I _scream,_ and dash away, running after Navi as fast as I can. More Stalchildren erupt behind me, cracking and bursting and cackling with the voices of the dead.

 _I'm scared, I'm scared, I'm scared-_

Navi's yelling and motioning to something but whether it's from the blood rushing in my ears or the tears welling up in my eyes, I can't understand her.

Something sharp and cold latches onto my ankle and pulls hard, knocking me to the ground again. I yelp as my chin smacks against the ground and kick as hard as I can.

The Stalchild's head pokes up out of the ground and I feel my heart jump up into my throat as I cry out again, smashing the flat of my blade against the arm, ignoring the claws pierce through the leather of my boot and sink into the flesh of my ankle. I try to get up but more Stalchildren jump on me, raking their nails down my arms, tears running down my cheeks as cracked, dirty fingers grab onto my limbs.

I manage to get my shield off my back and bash it into as many Stalchildren I can, fending off the rest with my sword. I scramble to my feet and run after Navi with half of an arm dangling off of my leg as we leave the swarm of undead behind us, teeth chattering and bones snapping.

* * *

Navi leads me, tired and hurting, up a hill and through a gate that seems too well managed to be natural. Stones line the wall and she takes hold of my finger and gently leads me to a building. It's too dark to see anything but she finds something that acts as a barrier (she calls it a door) and I open it and step inside before shutting it behind me.

Everything smells heavy and dusty, and I sneeze once or twice before settling down.

There's a window in the corner that lets a small stream of light through and I make a beeline towards it, shivering. It's cold.

I lay down on the small pile of hay and take off my hat, setting it next to me so that Navi can sleep there. She lays down next to me and I point out the window at the big round thing in the sky.

"Is that a sun?" I ask, voice soft and sleepy.

"No. That's the moon."

"What are the lights around it?"

Navi brightens.

 _"Stars."_

* * *

 ** _a/n:_** ok like i wrote more this time guys ,, its longer than usual! also thanks everybody for reviewing so far y'all r great


	16. Chapter 16

**disclaimer:** yahaha

* * *

Something's shaking me when I start to wake up.

"Stop…" I grumble, turning over.

The shaking won't stop and honestly it's getting kind of annoying so I curl up further into myself and groan. My body's sore all over the place and I feel stiff for some reason but I just really want to sleep because I'm so _exhausted_ and won't this _thing_ stop _bothering me please?_

" _C'mon,_ Greenie! Get up!" There's this little niggling voice in the back of my head that will _not_ stop yelling at me and my arms and legs sting and _I want to sleep-_

"Gosh darn- Come on, Greenie! I'm gonna tell my pop all 'bout you and you'll see how you like _that_ if you don't get up now!" There's a sharp twang to the voice, a curling of the A and enunciation of the Os. Something's pinching my nose shut now. I don't like this.

I bat the thing off my nose and whine, "Lemme sleep…"

And apparently that's the kicker because all of a sudden I'm bodily picked up and thrown over the shoulder of something, is it time to panic, yes-

I open my eyes and all I can see is bright red hair and the dusty ground that's not too far from my face and cream colored cloth.

I make a wild grab for my hat but my arms are pinned down by the thing's grip. It tightens around the scratches from last night and burns a little bit.

I scream, fear churning in my chest.

"My-My hat!" _Navi's there, Navi's there-_

"Oh, m' goddesses, shut up, ." The creature says angrily. "You're shouting in my ears." It sounds like a girl and the voice is oddly similar to a Kokiri's—maybe this is a Hylian?

"L-Lemme go!" I yell, twisting my body around to try to get its hold off of me. "Navi!? Where are you, Navi!?"

"Navi? Also- no way! I ain't letting go until I find Pop. Then _he'll_ deal with you!" It growls and I'm scared because I don't know what a pop is, is it a monster or something-

I'm still calling for Navi and apparently that annoys the thing because it jostles me. "Now stop shouting or I'll deal with you myself!"

My words lodge themselves in my throat and I look out into the now-bright room filled with strange, three pronged spears and flat blades. My hat lays abandoned on the pile of hay.

She kicks open the door to the large wooden house roughly and steps outside and I have to squint properly to see because it's _bright,_ too bright for my eyes to adjust to in such a short time. I flinch and whimper.

The thing stops. "You alright there, Greenie?"

 _Am I allowed to talk? What if I can't and-_

My breathing quickens and sweat starts to form on my forehead but I keep my mouth shut. I keep looking at the building, small, brown, and shabby. Maybe if I stare hard enough, Navi will come out and rescue me.

"…You planning on answering? Or…"

Am I supposed to answer? Is this a trick question?

But what if it gets mad because I don't say anything-

I bite my lip and take the plunge. "C-Can I talk?" My voice comes out too soft and too hesitant but since I'm right by the creature's ear, it hears me.

"Of course you're allowed to talk! Whaddya think!? What kinda host would I be if I didn't allow my guests to talk? Go 'head!" She shouts confidently, starting to walk around again.

I swallow nervously. "Um. O-Okay." _C'mon_ , me, speak up!

Something similar to dread is spinning up and jumping around my stomach just from the thought of trying to speak to this thing and I'm anxious and nervous and my lower lip is quivering, calm down, _calm down-_

"So? Who're you?" The thing asks, adjusting its grip on me again. "Why were you sleepin' in our shed?"

Ah, so that house thing is called a _shed._ That's nice to know.

Okay, but let's try to make a sentence. Let's try to do that.

I'm Link.

C'mon. Not too hard.

I take a deep breath.

Some choked squeak sound makes it out of my mouth but I don't quite get a sentence. Alright.

The creature stops again. "Didn't quite hear you there, but you alright, Greenie?"

I nod. Okay, I can do it this time, c'mon, c'mon-

"Ah!" The thing surprises me by shouting all of a sudden and I _did not whimper_ , "What kinda host am I to not introduce myself before askin' for the name of my guest?"

At that point, it lifts me off from over its shoulder and carefully sets me down on the ground and places its hands on its hips. I look up tentatively.

She holds out a hand and I can see blue eyes and freckles and red, red hair. She's smiling.

"I'm Malon! Welcome to Lon Lon Ranch."

* * *

I'm not sure how I got from sitting on the floor to this-

"C'mon, Greenie! Just a lil' closer!"

I squeeze my eyes shut and hold out a trembling hand. _Please don't eat me, please don't eat me-_

Something fuzzy and warm pushes into my hand and it takes every ounce of concentration in me not to flinch backwards.

"Ya got it, Greenie! Keep your palm flat!"

 _Something licked me-_

A long wet tongue licks up all three of the carrots in my hand in one go before munching on it softly.

I did it.

I did it!

I look up at the large brown creature, eyes wide. It's about the size of an adult wolfos and I'm downright _terrified_ of it.

"You did it, Greenie!" Malon shouts, jumping up and down from her spot a little away from me. "You fed a horse!"

The horse, apparently, looks at me expectantly with its big blue doe eyes and long eyelashes, nudging its snout into my hand for more. I reach my other hand out and stroke the stripe of white fur that runs down its forehead. It's warm and soft.

Apparently, it doesn't notice that I don't have any more carrots because it keeps sniffing around me and bumping its head into me in an effort to find more food.

"I-I don't have any more!" I say, pulling away, but the horse's head follows until it's nudging against my head and trying to _eat my hair-_

Malon's got her hands around her stomach, gut laughing while I panic and try to get the horse to stop trying to eat me.

Once she's finished laughing and being mean, she comes over and pulls the horse away from me as I clean my hair free of horse slobber.

"I-It tried to eat me." I whine, brushing my hand through my hair. Oh—Gross! It's all goopy. Yuck.

"That was _hilarious,_ Greenie! I've never seen Epona warm up to somebody so fast!" She cheers, jogging over to me and slapping me on the back hard enough that I stumble. "How'd'ja do it?"

"I dunno." I mumble. I want to tug my hat over my face but it's still back in the shed with Navi. I hope she's okay.

She giggles and takes my hand abruptly. My eyes widen and my breath hitches, but she starts to drag me off in the direction of another building. Maybe it's their house?

"M-Mal-," I want to tell her that running makes my ankle hurt, the ankle that stained the bottom of my boots maroon and still has five puncture wounds from last night but she interrupts me.

"Come on, Greenie!" Malon laughs, "You've gotta meet my pop!"

Her hand is around mine and its callused but warm and _reminds me of Saria._

She leads me to the entrance of the building, another door, opens it, and shouts, "POP!? WHERE ARE YOU!?"

I jump a little bit, surprised. Her voice is very loud.

"C-Coming!" It's a somewhat round and mellow voice, deep and warm. There're several thumping sounds and an _oof!_ and Malon turns to me.

"Pop probably just woke up. You'll like him!" She smiles wide, dimples and all, and squeezes my hand.

My face heats up and I fiddle with the hem of my tunic with the other hand. I'm not used to being this close to people other than Saria. It's a nice feeling. The dull, reverberating pain in my ankle is almost forgotten.

The thumping gets louder, revealing-

I rip my sweaty hand out of Malon's and scramble away, turning the corner and trying to find the shed again. I locate the small building and sprint inside, slamming the door closed behind me.

I'm breathing heavily and _it was huge_ and _where is Navi-_

"Link! What happened?"

 _Oh, thank Farore-_

Something bangs on the door from outside and I yelp, turning around and grabbing the door to keep it from opening. "Greenie!? Why'd you run!?"

Navi whirls in front of me, I love her so much, I love her, I'm so glad she's here, and talks softly. "Calm down, Link. It's gonna be okay. Tell me what happened after that girl took you."

There's more banging and my breathing quickens but I try to calm down for Navi.

"Sh-She took me outside and- and there, um, there was a-a horse?" I choke out, wiping the sweat on my hand off on my tunic, "And she took, she took me to this big house and then there was a _giant,_ Navi, it was huge and red and blue and it had-,"

The door's still making violent noises as Malon yells at me to come out, come back outside, but I manage to keep myself from freaking out too much as I finish telling Navi.

"It-It had a really big nose and it- it was hairy and-and-,"

Navi wipes away a tear that I hadn't realized was in my eyes. "Link. Calm down. It's okay."

I swallow and look up. "R-Really?"

"Yes, really. I'll grab your hat and we can go talk to the Hylian together, alright?"

My nervous fidgeting stops abruptly and I stare at her incredulously. "That was a _Hylian?"_

"Yes, Link." Navi comes back with my hat and places it lopsided on my head.

I blink once, twice, "B-But it was so-,"

"That was a grown-up, Link."

"It…" I look down at my feet and mumble, "It won't eat us?"

"Oh, Froggy," Navi sighs, pressing herself against my cheek in her version of a hug, "You have a lot to learn."

* * *

 **a/n:** the reason malon's calling him greenie is that she doesnt know he has a fairy yet she'll be calling him fairy boy next chap thanks for reading and shit yall


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